July 8, 2008

New London Mayor, Boris Johnson, has announced plans to drop the increased charge to enter Central London in vehicle emitting more than 225 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometre.  The proposed increase, initially out forward by former London supreme, Ken Livingstone, saw luxury car maker Porsche take TFL to court to challenge the ruling. 

Livingstone, who never hid his contempt of so called ‘gas guzzler’, SUVs had proposed an increase in the cost of the congestion charge from £8 to £25 per day for vehicles emitting more than the 225 g/km limit for CO2 from the tailpipe.  The plans would have affected as many as 20% of the vehicles entering the zone.  It also proposed to allow low emitting vehicles into the zone for free which critics argued would increase both congestion and the amount of CO2 emitted. 

The plan, which had been due to take effect in October, would have affected nearly one in five of all vehicles in London, reflecting the popularity of large SUV-type cars.

Mr Johnson campaigned against the plan before his election in May, and said he was pleased to kill the charge.
Mr Johnson said: "I am delighted that we have been able to scrap the £25 charge, which would have hit families and small businesses hardest.

I believe the proposal would actually have made congestion worse by allowing thousands of small cars in for free."
Porsche went to the Administrative Court to seek judicial review of the proposal after research from King's College showed that the new charge would actually increase CO2 emissions in Greater London due to people driving further around the zone in order to avoid the charge.

The company said it had been awarded legal costs expected to amount to a six-figure sum.
Porsche Managing director Andy Goff said: "The charge was clearly unfair and was actually going to increase emissions in London.

"Porsche is proud to have played a decisive role in striking down such a blatantly political tax increase targeting motorists."

The company said it would donate the legal costs awarded to youth charity Skidz, which helps turn young people away from crime by training them as mechanics.

Mayor Livingstone had said, when the new measure was proposed, that there would be an election before the increase in charges was applied and that if people didn’t like the proposals they would be able to vote him out.  With Johnson trumpeted by the Evening Standard every evening that is exactly what happened.  The residents of the zone that drove high polluting vehicles were also due to lose their 90% discount, which can’t have promoted Livingstone’s vote from them.

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