The London Assembly report includes change in road pricing tech

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One of the most successful IT based policy initiatives in London, the congestion charge has reportedly been beaten by a rise in delivery vans and private hire cars according to a report run by the London Assembly Transport Committee.

The committee has proposed that the existing charge be replaced by a ‘road pricing’ system which would be based on distance travelled and the time of day.

The current congestion charge is fixed at £11.50 per day and is supported by automatic number plate recognition technology (ANPR), which was introduced back in 2003. Between 2002 and 2014 the number of vehicles entering central London fell by around 39%.

After a decade of initial success, it appears that congestion is back on the rise with average vehicle speed on major roads falling by 11% from 2012 to 2015.

The report suggests that the increase is not due to the use of private cars which it states has been decreasing over the last decade. However, the number of light delivery and private hire vehicles have increased by over 70% in less than 4 years.

Delivery vans still pay a contribution towards the charge but private hire vehicles that are licensed with London Taxi and Private Hire are exempt. The committee has proposed that the exemption be removed.

The London Assembly Transport committee commented “The recent increase in congestion should lead to a reassessment of whether the policy is achieving key objectives, and how it may be modified or replaced.”

They have put forward a short-term plan whereby the system is replaced by one that charges vehicles more for entering the posted zones at peak times and for the time spent within that zone. The long-term plan is to integrate the charge with other charges that drivers have to pay such as road tax. They have not outlined what that would mean for vehicles registered in London but used outside of the capital.

This being said, some of the committee’s other solutions seem much more reasonable. One of which are to consider expanding the use of electronic board displays on the outside of the buses which show real time traffic and congestion information.

Caroline Pidgeon, the char of the committee says: “We recommend in this report that the mayor should make plans now to introduce road pricing in London. This idea has long been discussed, but until now the political will make it happen has been lacking. Delaying further is not an option.”