'£8 C-CHARGE CONSULTATION WILL BE WHITEWASH WHITEWASHING A WHITEWASH'

11.16.49am GMT Tue 7th Dec 2004

Commenting on the consultation proposed by Ken Livingstone on the increase in the Congestion Charge from £5 to £8 that starts today and will last for 12 weeks, Liberal Democrat London Assembly Transport Spokesperson, Lynne Featherstone, said:-

"The Mayor's consultation on the C-charge price increase will be nothing more than a whitewash whitewashing a whitewash. Despite the legal requirement to launch this so-called consultation, Mr Livingstone will increase the Congestion Charge no matter what the views of Londoners are.

"Either there should be a legal requirement for the Mayor to act on the results of the consultation, or he should be honest and admit that he will pay no attention to the results."

"The 60% price hike has nothing to do with reducing congestion but everything to do with raising a bob-or-two.

"The £8 charge will only be acceptable to Londoners if the Mayor gives us a better deal for it. It is time the Mayor stopped clobbering motorists who intend to pay the charge but miss the 10pm deadline and give them an extra day to pay.

"The theatre and entertainments industry badly need the Congestion Charge to end at 5pm. The Mayor needs a serious re-think or he risks wrecking what has been a famously successful scheme."

ENDS

In a letter to Assembly Members, Transport for London says:-

"The Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, has asked Transport for London (TfL) to bring forward and commence consultation upon proposals to increase the central London congestion charge from £5.00 to £8.00. The proposed charge for vehicles registered on the 'fleet schemes' would be £7.00. The proposed increases would be accompanied by a package of new measures to reduce the 'hassle' of paying the charge. These would involve a 15% reduction for monthly and annual payments; waiving of the 10% surcharge on the 'automated' fleet scheme; allowing cars on the 'automated' fleet scheme; and reducing a number of administrative charges.

The consultation on these variations commences today and will run for 12 weeks until 28 February 2005.

The reasons for the proposed variations and information on how your organisation can respond to the consultation are explained in the attached documentation which is also available on the website at: www.tfl.gov.uk/congestioncharging."