I greatly admire Mayor Ken Livingstone for all the eco-work he is doing for London and for the World. He is quickly rising to the top of my favorite eco-mayors list, with Enrique Penalosa of Bogata at the top.

I don't see this as groundbreaking.

The people who can afford to purchase and run these vehicles, and park them in the CBD all day are not likely to be deterred. This system will only deter the less-wealthy (who may actually need one of these big cars - tradespeople, the disabled, etc)

I hope that any revenue would go to toward upgrading alternative transport options.

What is it makes Livingston able to pull this off so well? Immense political machine that delivers the services people really want, so they forgive him his green eccentricities. A loyal populace which shares his values? An hierarchal system of government? What?

If a US mayor tried this they would storm city hall and talk TV wingnuts would have a field day.

What is it makes Livingston able to pull this off so well? Immense political machine that delivers the services people really want, so they forgive him his green eccentricities. A loyal populace which shares his values? An hierarchal system of government? What?

If a US mayor tried this they would storm city hall and talk TV wingnuts would have a field day.

Essentially, it's taxing the rich for the good of everyone -- the money goes towards public transport and cycle paths etc. It should encourage some rich people to buy better cars though -- I walk through one of the most expensive parts of London to get to work, and there's a few smart cars and the like around.

I don't know how it works -- there's an election for the next major not too far away, we'll see what happens. He's got my vote.

Alex, a charge of £25 a day is £6000 a year - not insignificant, even to the wealthiest. G band cars already have resale values falling through the floor and this will have a very strong additional effect.

Cars that emit below 225g/km will pay £8 as they do now and there are a lot of perfectly suitable cars below this level for anyone's needs.

Cars that emit below 121g/km will pay nothing.

I'd say that's pretty progressive!

Stuff like this can only happen in a country where the per capita number of CCTV surveillance cameras is the highest in the world, yet 80% of all crimes go unsolved. 1 camera per 55 people, and rising; A citizen arrested for even a minor offence, like jay-walking, is automatically entered in a national DNA database by the police.

Stuff like this can only happen in the UK. Winston Churchill is a distant memory. They are finished. England has gone under without a bubble.

The secret to Red Kens success? - Ignorance.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/6676671.stm

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2003/sep/05/londonpolitics.greaterlondonauthority

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-5007517-details/Congestion+charge+hammers+shops/article.do

Like all good politicians, he makes a decision then blindly ignore critisism.

And it's not all good for alternative transport or road safety either!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/2985554.stm

I don't live or travel to London - in fact I cycle to work every day in Bath. But this new tax is one of the most unfair I've ever seen. For those inside the zone with a band G car this represents something like a 3000% increase (due to the dropping of the 10% relief for residents). Even for a non-resident with a band-g car its over a 300% increase overnight.

My main issues are:

1. All CO2 is bad for global warming including the 105g/km output by a Prius and therefore to make these cars free exempt is just wrong. A fair system would be a proper sliding scale from 99g/km to 400+g/km.

2. This is too sudden a hike to impose on people - such a change can only be fair if phased in over say five years allowing for people to change cars in a sensible life-cycle. I would suggest increasing the upper band by £2 per year over the next seven years if you want to get to these levels in a fair and balanced manner.

3. Its a measure which will have a disproportionate effect on the less well-off - but will probably do little to kill off Livingston's hated 'Chelsea Tractors'.

4. The Mayor's remit is for the London environment and this increase only addresses ground level health-affecting pollution in a very hit-and-miss way. Someone with an older smaller car is very likely to be emitting more harmful emissions than someone with the latest Merc. Or take the example of a diesel car that is just under the 225g/km against a petrol car just over the limit - diesel cars generally make higher emissions of health-damaging particulates. Ideally, it would be these harmful emissions that should concern the mayor of a city while CO2 comes under the remit of the Government of the country.

5. These lower and upper bands are rumoured to be likely to be reviewed in the future meaning that nobody can buy a car with any confidence as to what its likely future congestion charge will be. Even those buying a Prius and expecting a zero charge may end up being disappointed if the Mayor has to add a charge for these cars due to increased congestion.

'Stuff like this can only happen in a country where the per capita number of CCTV surveillance cameras is the highest in the world, yet 80% of all crimes go unsolved. 1 camera per 55 people, and rising; A citizen arrested for even a minor offence, like jay-walking, is automatically entered in a national DNA database by the police. Stuff like this can only happen in the UK. Winston Churchill is a distant memory. They are finished. England has gone under without a bubble.'

---And he says this of one of the greatest democracies - arguably the greatest - in the world. I guess this guy thinks that true democracy is where HIS values are IMPOSED on the majority rather than the majority choosing for themselves what they will and won't accept done to them. Thank you for sharing your dictatorial opinions. But I prefer to be a moderate - I'll let you take the extreme.

'Stuff like this can only happen in a country where the per capita number of CCTV surveillance cameras is the highest in the world, yet 80% of all crimes go unsolved. 1 camera per 55 people, and rising; A citizen arrested for even a minor offence, like jay-walking, is automatically entered in a national DNA database by the police. Stuff like this can only happen in the UK. Winston Churchill is a distant memory. They are finished. England has gone under without a bubble.'

---And he says this of one of the greatest democracies - arguably the greatest - in the world. I guess this guy thinks that true democracy is where HIS values are IMPOSED on the majority rather than the majority choosing for themselves what they will and won't accept done to them. Thank you for sharing your dictatorial opinions. But I prefer to be a moderate - I'll let you take the extreme.

The principle of this that someone driving a more polluting car should pay more is good.

The politics behind it are a bit suspect as it rides a wave of "bashing a mythical group of people in chelsea who drive round all day in 4x4s (chelsea tractors) with no regard for the environment". The 1/3rd of vehicles in the £25 charge bracket are mostly taxis. This is because noone has the guts to take them on and change their cabs to hybrids or more efficient vehicles. Annoy the cabbies and they criticise you to every passenger - not a vote winner!

The other downside to this is it ends demand for electric and hybrid vehicles. I've just spend £6,000 on a 1.3 litre car that will be free to drive. An electic one costs £10,000 and a hybrid £18,000. My car is much more polluting than these more expensive cars.