I know Jim is a fan of congestion pricing, and even believes it may hold some hope of changing the transportation landscape in far-flung portions of the state.
But then there is a this cautionary tale out of London, where congestion pricing has been in place for some time. The results aren’t exactly pretty:
Motorists in London have paid more than £677 million since the introduction of the congestion charge in 2003 — but only a fraction of this has been invested in other transport projects.
And with Ken Livingstone, the capital’s mayor, planning to extend the zone west into Kensington and Chelsea, opposition politicians claim much of the revenue has been swallowed up in the cost of running the scheme.
According to the Greater London Authority’s own figures, the bill for the congestion charge is rising above the rate of inflation, from £120.8 million two years ago to £143.5 million last year.
However, setting up the scheme cost an estimated £161.7 million and it is now believed that motorists will have to help find the £103 million to extend it to the West.
The London experience will in crease public doubts concerning road pricing. To add to the controversy it has emerged that a large slice of the income made by Transport for London comes not from motorists who pay the charge, but from fines on those who don’t.
While London’s experience does not necessarily mean the concept of congestion pricing should be abandoned, it does tell me that before such a scheme is tried here, far more needs to be done to ensure that the sort of “budget creep” London is facing isn’t repeated.
