Some thread about the London congestion charge

[Mrwong]

http://chng.it/K9DgxvGvQ6


please click to vote.



London congestion charge has been extended everyday now 7 am to 10 pm 7 days a week. It used to be 7am to 6 pm Monday to Friday.

The price has gone up to £15, this is a complete joke, not only this, London transport capacity has been dramatically reduced only 20 allowed onboard a bus etc..

Add the above with the constant road reduction in lanes, making London a nightmare to drive.

Two way road converted to one way road, I seen a Road near the old US embassy empty and wondered how do you get onto the road as all the roads connect are one way out and none going in.

I have now stopped going to central London for shopping and other trips.I really feel for those shops about to take another hit.

I have seen bigger queues for transport ever since the extended congestion times and charge.

I really dislike everything about this London Mayor and his crappy policies over the last few years.

 

[Mrwong]

I've no idea why anyone would want to drive into central London anyway.

Less polluting vehicles there the better IMO.

The roads around the CC are becoming a nightmare to drive because no one wants to enter the CC now.

 

[Mrwong]

Going to ask the obvious here...what is wrong with using public transport? Masked up obvs but solves your issue of money.

Did see an article about more of central becoming a car free zone...would be lovely.

Public transport in London could not cope before COVID-19, Now there are less buses less capacity on the bus and more congestion on the outskirts of the CC zone.

Add this to reduced car lanes making it a nightmare to move around London.

I thought people were supposed to be at a distance from each other. The policies above and others have clustered more people together.

Then making a mess of the road systems adds to congestion.

 

[Mrwong]

Lol

Lol

 

[Mrwong]

Not signing your link, not that I think it would do anything.

I agree with congestion charging central London.

If it was better implemented but it is a total disaster.

 

[Mrwong]

Same

And lets not forget that one reason for the charge is that TFL was about to run out of money on May 14th, due to the Covid-19 crisis (They get 75% of their money from fares)

The suspension of free travel for people under 18, free peak-hours travel for those over 60 and the increases in the level of the congestion charge were all conditions from the Department of transport for TFL to receive the bailout, its' all here:

http://content.tfl.gov.uk/board-20200602-agenda-and-papers-supplentary.pdf

Maybe you should be directing your ire at the Government, not Khan, who was not at all happy with the conditions of this bailout.

Actually they were not the conditions, they were TFL interpretation of the conditions.
A interview they asked the Mayor about the actual conditions he refused to explain them.
Plus the redesigned London roads had added to the congestion.

There roads that are 3 lanes then after Junction lights become one lane, people get caught on the yellow box. It is a fraud and designed to fine people rather than traffic flow.

Another high street has so many traffic lights there is always traffic.

 

[Mrwong]

Rubbish, It's in the letter from Grant Shapps, in the link I posted. I quote:



https://www.standard.co.uk/news/tra...ent-16-billion-revealed-details-a4454416.html

Widen the scope can mean anything, and is open to interpretation.

 

[Mrwong]

You're more than welcome to read the paper yourself, it's the conservative government trying to tank a Labour mayor as they know they have no chance of winning the mayoral election without it.

There's plenty of valid reasons to criticise Khan, this is not one of them.

Why are you driving into central london anyway!?

There is no capacity and dirty.

 

[Mrwong]

A few drives into central London will turn you into Colonel Kurtz

Now it’s gone insane to drive in central London. Seriously need heavy medication to drive I. Central London and be able to take in all the sign information on the roads.

There are roads For example one road goes from 3O then 3 meters on the floor it says 20 then 4 meters sign saying 30 then another floor sign saying 20, that is insane.

Some of the roads designs are insane, two mini aroundabouts 4 meters apart. People get so confused it’s hilarious.

 

[Mrwong]

Questions

How old is the OP and where in London does he currently live?

In the last thread he said "I live in one of the best areas of London"

Not to far from from Brompton cemetery

 

[Mrwong]

London isn't designed for cars and people shouldn't be driving in central london unless they have no choice.



Plenty of capacity on the trains at the moment, I had zero issues social distancing on a train through central london during rush hour.

Where are you coming from and what shops are not available close to where you live?

There were no problems years ago, but ever since they started to tinker with road designs it has become considerably worse.

3 lane roads going into two or even one Lane, that is after a yellow box junction.
Traffic on roads that have no history of traffic.

 

[Mrwong]

There were no problems years ago, but ever since they started to tinker with road designs it has become considerably worse.

3 lane roads going into two or even one Lane, that is after a yellow box junction.
Traffic on roads that have no history of traffic.

I had to get a district line a few weeks ago ended up walking it was bumper to bumper.

 

[Mrwong]

"Years ago" there were far less people in and around London, and fewer cars per household.

Britain’s biggest city has almost ground to a halt, thanks to the rise of Uber, delivery drivers – and cycle lanes. Can anything be done to end the gridlock and pollution?

London has achieved the impossible by eradicating the private car – and still having desperate traffic congestion,” says Prof Tony Travers, the director of LSE London, a research centre at the London School of Economics that explores the city’s economic and social concerns. “People keep saying we need to get the cars off the road. In central London, there aren’t any.”

 

[Mrwong]

Ban cars entirely and invest in bike lanes and electric public transport.

Who will pay for it? At the moment there are roadworks on almost every street in my part of London.
I can’t cycle Or walk from west to east London twice a day, car is the only solution.

 

[Mrwong]

I really can't stand Sadiq Khan, but that petition is poorly written and thought out.

It has around 140k votes so far, more than others I have seen.

 

[Mrwong]

Meh is what it is... not like it matters. Most people driving in London for whatever reason at the moment are generally doing it for work and will put it on expenses. I've been in several times over the last few weeks and was in London on Saturday and did exactly that. It's bliss driving through the town at the moment compared to how it was anyway so ill gladly pay the few extra quid not to be constantly in traffic.

Try driving this Saturday in London and pay £15, Park Lane has been mutilated. Yes for those that don't go to central London ever day it is fine but for those that visit everyday it is insane, I expect lots businesses to go under.

As you say pass on the expense to your company which is passed on to clients.

All the new Roadworks cutting down lanes, extension of CC. When people start to going back to work the new transport designs will not function anymore.

London didn't have the capability before the lock down, with those additional restrictions in placed it will destroy commerce in central London.

 

[Mrwong]

Better get an EV then if you drive into London regularly, problem solved.

It's anti combustion engine, but that's a good thing.

They too will lose there exemption, hybrid cars lose it next year. Full EV a few years later.

The congestion charge sole purpose to create extra revenue, it is not about congestion pollution.

 

[Mrwong]

it wouldn't move, like the old days everybody would be stuck, engines running and blasting their horns.

All city centres should have some level of congestion charge. Park and ride is easy and cheap, public transport is plentiful so there is no real reason to be overcrowding the city centres anymore.

I feel this thread was started about politics more than anything else though.

You know public transportation fares are rising too, the biggest rise in years.

 

[Mrwong]

How do you think London would look and move today if it had never been introduced?

Exactly. We'd have hundreds, if not thousands of preventable deaths each year in London. But yes, OP was political. I guess it would, ironically, be less political when he's old enough to actually drive and to vote

Well maybe try to get companies to set up base elsewhere in the UK. These days you don't need to have everything centralised in London.
Tax companies in central London more than in the outskirts that would reduce more congestion than a charge.

 

[Mrwong]

Why is there a massive picture of Trump on the petition?

Before the congestion charge Central London was pretty much always in gridlock.

Congestion charge has always been about making sure people who really need to drive into there were doing so.

The money is also spent on TFL.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_congestion_charge#Income_and_costs

I'd much rather they increase the charge than pedestrianise the area.



People that work in Central London don't drive in. I'm not sure what you are getting at. Rent in Central London is already way higher than what you could feasibly tax. There is a reason companies are still there.

The people that really need to travel in are in low paid jobs keeping the system afloat. Those that say CC should be higher are those that can afford it or offset it.

If you want to reduce congestion then ban cars in central London.

If companies are still able to pay the rents then it's not high enough. Maybe design new taxes to reduce density in high density areas. Companies need to shift away from London to other parts of the UK. This would help reduce bias, help to reduce economic waste and improve human capital.