The Central London Congestion Charge Mike Keegan, Transport Planning & Policy Transport for London The charge for having a vehicle* in the zone is 8 per day, weekdays, 7a.m. to 6.30 p.m. * Some vehicles are exempt (buses, taxis, motorbikes, registered disabled) 1
The scheme is a success Congestion down 30% in the zone No discernable negative impacts on business Bus reliability and journey time improved Air pollution and CO2 emissions reduced Road safety improved Competition for road space is tight in central London Why the Congestion Charge works Relatively simple technology Highly integrated transport network Devolved Government: Mayor took the risk Free flowing traffic at one of London s busiest interchanges 2
The Mayor is keen to maintain the momentum. Goal: Pricing Policy for Efficient use of Transport Our Vision: Drivers pay for the impacts of the transport they consume Congestion tackled Emissions mitigated 3
Transport for London www.tfl.gov.uk 4
The London Congestion Charge Past, present and future Mike Keegan, Transport Planning & Policy Transport for London Context Greater London population 7 million Central London employment 1 million 85%+ of travel to central London by public transport High levels of congestion - all day congestion - vehicles spending 50% of time in queues - temporary gridlock - poor journey time reliability 5
Business crying out for something to be done Enabling measures Movement towards devolution Enabling legislation enacted in 1999 & 2000 ROCOL Study a Government plan for charging in Central London offered to Mayoral candidates Overt political strategy Ken Livingston running as independent candidate on platform of charging Key Goal: Implement in the Mayor s First Term Choices: Area based Camera-based enforcement Proven technology 6
The charge for having a vehicle* in the zone is 8 per day, weekdays, 7a.m. to 6.30 p.m. * Some vehicles are exempt (buses, taxis, motorbikes, registered disabled) Camera Locations 688 fixed cameras 7
Vehicles entering the charging zone are down by 15% Total flow 200,000 180,000 160,000 140,000 120,000 100,000 80,000 60,000 Feb/Mar 2002 Spring 2002 Autumn 2002 January 2003 Feb/Mar 2003 Spring 2003 Autumn 2003 Spring 2004 Autumn 2004 March 2005 Spring 2005 Autumn 2005 November 2005 40,000 20,000 0 Cars and minicabs Vans Lorries and others Taxis Buses and coaches Powered twowheelers Pedal cycles Congestion is down by 30% inside the zone 5 Charging starts Excess delay (min/km) Night-time travel rate (min/km) 4 Travel rate (min/km) 3 2 1 0 Jan Mar May Jul Sep Nov Jan Mar May Jul Sep Nov Jan Mar May Jul Sep Nov Jan Mar May Jul Sep Nov Jan Feb Apr Jun Aug Oct Dec Feb Apr Jun Aug Oct Dec Feb Apr Jun Aug Oct Dec Feb Apr Jun Aug Oct Dec Feb 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 8
Longer-term trends in network speeds 20 18 Charging starts 16 14 Includes 8 impacts Speed (km/h) 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 Charging zone speeds - historic series Linear (Charging zone speeds - historic series) Charging zone speeds - congestion charging monitoring Public Transport benefits from the Congestion Charge 50% of car occupants who ceased driving into Central London switched to public transport Underground, rail and expanded bus services able to accommodate increased demands at 5 and 8 122 million net revenue invested back into transportation - mainly bus services Bus services benefited from significant improvements in reliability and journey time 9
Broader benefits of the charge Growth of London economy overall remains positive Businesses performance in charging zone significantly better than in the rest of London Public discussion about impact on retail Road traffic accidents continue to reduce Between 40 and 70 fewer accidents per year Air quality has improved Nitrogen oxides (NOx) dropped by 13% and Particulate matter (PM10) dropped by 15% Pedal Cycling activity increased by 40% Why the Congestion Charge works Relatively simple technology Highly integrated transport network Devolved Government: Mayor took the risk 10
The Mayor is keen to maintain the momentum. Encourage the use of cleaner vehicles and reduce emissions Now we have the opportunity to address one of the key issues for 21 st Century climate change 11
Goal: Pricing Policy for Efficient use of Transport Our Vision: Drivers pay for the impacts of the transport they consume Congestion tackled Emissions mitigated Transport for London www.tfl.gov.uk 12
Next Steps Investigate new technology Develop thinking on London wide charging options UK Govt. to introduce national scheme by 2015? Plans underway for new technologies Tag and beacon technology for use in sensitive urban areas for more flexible charging e.g. charging by direction or time of day could be developed in short term (by 2009) Differential pricing can reflect diverse conditions across London Complexity is a concern Opportunity to move to broad scale revenue raising systems that change behaviour Potential reduction in other taxes 13
Borough High Street Singapore Tag & beacon within mini-zone of 20 charging points GPS On-board units for distance-based charging London leads the way UK Government drawing from experience of London National system of road pricing has been placed on the Government s transportation agenda With a national charging scheme likely to be some years away, we are keen to develop our thinking on a transition plan to London-wide charging London s innovation now national mainstream policy Journey fees could replace road tax 4 May 2005 14