We do not use Congestion Charge net income specifically to reduce fares.
 
The Mayor has decided that all net income to be used to encourage and help
cyclists, pedestrians and improved pax safety on buses (CCTV etc).
 
However, remember Congestion Charge is not a tax - it is pricing for
vehicular use of a scarce resource - road space in central London.
It has succeeded all expectations in this objective. Except when Formula One
racing cars hit Regent Street last week, London's central London streets are
much quieter. (Both in terms of traffic and noise).
 
TfL has a budget of almost £5bn pa.
The £90m from Congestion Charge is welcome but not crucial. (The difference
between buying something in a shop for £50 or £50.90p). The difference is
noticable but not crucial.
£90m would not make much dent in fares. 
However, over the past 4 years the Mayor has kept tube fares in line with
inflation and the cost of bus passes was cut from £12.50 to £9.50 per week
with children under 11 now travelling free (previously children under 5
years old). The 70p outer London bus fare was increased to £1 to enable
faster boarding (no change from the driver) and encourage off-bus sales of
cheaper tickets from newsagents and tube stations.
 
We await todays spending announcement from the Government which will
determine our Government Grant for the next four years.
 
If you really want to release money for cheaper fares, then a Land Value Tax
would be much more efficient. It is cheap to collect unlike Congestion
Charge (you don't need 700 cameras, a call centre, hundreds of retail
outlets etc) and impossible to avoid unlike the 2 million who are failing to
pay congestion charge each year and have to be chased up with penalties.
 
 
CONCLUSION:  Congestion Charge is a Congestion Buster - not an efficient tax
to pay for lower fares!
 

Dave 

Dave Wetzel 
Vice-chair, 
Transport for London 
Windsor House, 42-50 Victoria Street. 
London. SW1H 0TL. UK. 
Tel 020 7941 4200 

Close to New Scotland Yard. 
Buses 11,24,148,211,N11 pass the door. 
Nearest Underground - St James's Park tube station. 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Simon Norton [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 11 July 2004 23:38
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [NewMobilityCafe] road user charges


Why were most of the recommended links from the Observer article to groups
involved in one way or another with the motor industry and none to
environmental groups ?

As far as I am concerned there is one over-riding priority for use of funds
generated by road user charging -- the reduction of public transport fares.
No
doubt Dave Wetzel can confirm to what extent this has happened in London. As
an
example of the level of "congestion charge" that can currently be inflicted
on
rail users, the difference between the full fare and saver returns from
London
to Manchester is, I believe, about 150 pounds, or 25p per kilometre. For
many
destinations, especially in the more rural areas, a day trip is only
possible
by public transport using trains subject to these peak restrictions -- and
many
of them are only designated as such because the relevant train operator
wants to
extract as much money from passengers as possible and doesn't care if they
go by
car instead and congest the motorways. And then the Government plays into
their
hands by proposing to widen the motorways...

Of course, money from road user charging also needs to be used to fill in
the
missing links in the system so that it does offer an alternative for almost
all
journeys. I'd say that this has happened in London.

Simon Norton




The New Mobility Agenda is permanently at http://NewMobility.org
<http://NewMobility.org>  
To post messages to list: [log in to unmask]
To unsubscribe: [log in to unmask]
Run into a problem? Try [log in to unmask] for help.







Yahoo! Groups Sponsor	

ADVERTISEMENT
 
<http://us.ard.yahoo.com/SIG=129u3nj6s/M=295196.4901138.6071305.3001176/D=gr
oups/S=1707205954:HM/EXP=1089697540/A=2128215/R=0/SIG=10se96mf6/*http://comp
anion.yahoo.com> click here	
 
<http://us.adserver.yahoo.com/l?M=295196.4901138.6071305.3001176/D=groups/S=
:HM/A=2128215/rand=964213610> 	


  _____  

Yahoo! Groups Links


*       To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NewMobilityCafe/
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NewMobilityCafe/> 
  

*       To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>   

*       Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service
<http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/> . 




***********************************************************************************
The contents of the e-mail and any transmitted files are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. Transport for London hereby exclude any warranty and any liability as to the quality or accuracy of the contents of this email and any attached transmitted files. If you are not the intended recipient be advised that you have received this email in error and that any use, dissemination, forwarding, printing or copying of this email is strictly prohibited.

If you have received this email in error please notify [log in to unmask]

This footnote also confirms that this email message has been swept for the presence of computer viruses.
***********************************************************************************