The London Downtown Congestion Charge After a Decade

10 years of London’s congestion charge – a success or disappointment?(Scott Wilson, Road Pricing, Feb. 17, 2013)

Also discussed here: Ten years of the Congestion Charge: Fewer cars, less pollution and a positive impact on business(James Bloodworth, Left Foot Forward, Feb. 25, 2013)

Today we review an assessment of the London Downtown Congestion Charge, ten years after it was introduced in one of the world’s largest cities and after it inspired other cities, notably Stockholm and New York City, to emulate the British experiment with mixed results. In fact the London experience was a mixed result with limited success in reducing vehicles from entering the congestion area but no progress in reducing actual congestion because of the removal of road space to free up other transport options such as walking on sidewalks and bike lanes. There was little effect on business or economic activity and collection of revenue costs were relatively high at 40% of gross. Lessons learned from London (and Stockholm and Singapore) and advances in GPS technology suggest that future attempts may do better.

Until 18 February 2007 the congestion charge applied to drivers within the highlighted area. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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