Driver association slams TfL congestion charge report
Date: 07 September 2007
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The Association of British Drivers (ABD) has given a damning indictment of Transport for London's (TfL) fifth annual London congestion charge monitoring report, calling it "a minefield of obfuscation and misleading statistics".
London's C-charge zone punishes couriers and freight haulage drivers who enter the capital during working hours, and is vehemently opposed by many.
Although the zone was supposed to alleviate congestion, the TfL reports that a "sharp increase in congestion inside the central London charging zone" was observed during 2006. This was blamed partly on road works, but the problems has also been accentuated by reallocating road space to buses and pedestrians.
The ABD notes that congestion has been getting gradually worse, not better, since the congestion charge was introduced in 2003. "In reality congestion charging has not worked," a spokesman said.
The TfL report indicates that there were 13 per cent fewer vans and lorries in central London in 2006 compared to 2002, showing that the charge has forced freight haulage companies to adapt and disrupting their business.
Now a similar scheme is being planned for Manchester, which one local council member has branded as "immoral".
Macclesfield Council Conservative Wesley Fitzgerald said the plan - which would penalise couriers for driving into the city - was merely a means of raising cash for Manchester and that Macclesfield would see no benefits.
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