London congestion charge for foreign cars

Motorbikes are exempt from the charge, so it shouldn't have affected you. Even if you had no transport options outside of London, you could drive to a train station and catch the train in. We're not talking about all London here, only a small bit in the middle where public transport is excellent.

Except that it is 50% less than I pay in Somerset for just going a few stops to the shops.

Well, I know that, but in principle I am against this 'charge'. I am already paying for the usage of the roads so why should I have to fork out more if I decide to use my car to pick up my outlaws from Victoria etc.

The tax on motor vehicles is that, NOT an "entitlement" to use the road.
Your outlaws (love that ) arriving at Victoria could continue their journey by public trasnport of which there is LOADS in Central London.

How about the levies on the fuel etc. Does that count for anything? Where does the money come from? Surely, Ken does not pay it from his own pocket so I must be paying for it one way or another.

In real terms the cost of driving a car in the UK has been FALLING IIRC since around the mid 1960s.
The real term cost of using public transport however has been increasing.

Neither road tax or fuel tax are ring fenced but go into the big pot.
Afaik, London Congestion Charge monies are ring fenced.
So minus the rake off for Crapita, it goes on transport spending in London.

You have to pay extra because the place is jam packed and it's better for everyone if you stop being lazy and get on public transport rather than being selfish and taking your car.

What Boris fucking Johnson and consorts hate about it is that the money they pay when they drive the 4x4 through Mayfair
might end up being spent to improve buses to a run down estate in Harlesden.

Yes, but if they did that there would be more working class people in the city and that just wouldn't do old boy

Thanks for that. It does have 9 seats but they were all folded down as bus was full of camping kit. I forwarded all info on to the guy in charge and he has decided to leave it until they get in touch with us. Not the approach I would have taken but as I said not my vehicle so out of my hands. I am just the Miss Information. I told them all it was not a good idea to take the bus through London but they decided to ignore my advice and do it anyway!

I agree the scheme is a good one and if it did help congestion in a city like Frankfurt I'd be happy to either pay it or leave my car at home. Sady I do not see this being the case.

Ok well I was not being selfish at all. In fact considering I had just spent two weeks of my holidays looking after other peoples kids 24 hours a day without getting paid for it I'd say it was a pretty selfless act Also considering the place was still jam packed I don't think it actually does make that much of a difference...

I wasn't having a go at you.. I'm just saying in general..

It might still be jammed packed, but it was worse before. I was living there when they changed over and the difference was really noticeable. Either way, at least all the car drivers are paying 5 quid now to improve public transport.

The reason London was jam packed was because our esteemed mayor Ken changed the phasing on the traffic lights about 18 months to a year before the CG was introduced. Traffic lights that were normally fast were taking up to 2 minutes to change and then letting out half a dozen cars, and then the next light further down the street was not turning green as you approached it, as it should if you want to ensure smooth traffic flow. Anyone who has lived and driven in Central London knows this is the case. Miraculously once the charges were introduced, the light phasing was reprogrammed and traffic seemed lighter. This was confirmed by studies done on the timing of traffic lights within the zone but denied as a reason to introduce a money making scheme to shore up London Transport. Supposedly the money goes into improving the roads, London Underground and bus system but that is as expensive and poorly run as ever. It makes me laugh the amount of speed camera they have because going over 30mph would be a luxury!
Yes, I'm sure the charge has eliminated a small percentage of vehicles from Central London but stationary traffic is still commonplace.

The charge is now £8 a day or £10 if you forget and pay it the next day.

Any chance of a link to those studies Nicole?
Cos I think that's a load of old toffee.
Traffic planners re-tune traffic lights to get the maximum effeciencies for the most logicl journies at the most logical time of day.

If there had been political interference to deliberately worsen the efficiency of the traffic light system there would have been an outcry so i look forward to the links to those studies.

Just Google it, it was reported in many newspapers. TFL denied the lights were re phased to increase congestion but to give pedestrians longer to cross the road. The charge was also bought in at the beginning of half term when the roads are markedly quieter so as to give the appearance that it was a miraculous cure to the traffic Problems. The complaints of rephasing the lights were not made by just a few people, ask anyone who lived and drove into London at the time and they will tell you how it was.

Didn't need to check a study. Before Ken put his tax on, the traffic lights at the top of Northumberland Avenue to Trafalgar Square were on green for 3 (yes THREE - I counted them) seconds. After the tax was imposed they changed to 11 seconds. In terms of traffic flow, this makes a huge difference. A friend who works for Ken will not deny that this is the case.

And while we review your communist diatribe elsewhere, Boris "fucking" Johnson (as you delightfully call him) has driven a bicycle around London for years, well before you "Eco-warriors" decided thet it would be trendy to hitch your wagon to this cause. He also does not drive a 4x4 Chelsea tractor (so emotive, don't you think?) through Mayfair.