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50,000 drivers shun zone
By Ross Lydall, Evening Standard Last updated at 00:00am on 23.10.03
More than 50,000 car drivers a day are avoiding central London because of the congestion charge.
The figure is revealed as part of a major analysis of the first six months of Ken Livingstone's scheme.
And while businesses such as John Lewis insist the charge is hurting trade, the Mayor will tell a major conference today that the charge has actually given a £50million-a-year boost to London's economy.
He will say that the benefit comes from factors such as drivers saving time on their journeys, fuel savings and a reduction in accidents.
Today's figures give the fullest picture yet of the £5-a-day charge's impact on deterring motorists from entering the zone - and its success in cutting congestion by around 30 per cent.
The analysis shows that more than half of the 50,000 drivers avoiding the zone have switched to public transport, 20 to 30 percent are driving around the edge of the zone to avoid the charge and between 15 and 25 per cent have either taken up cycling or travel in shared cars.
This is at the very top of predictions and means that profits from charging motorists for coming into the zone will be halved to about £65 million this year. Less money can be re-invested in public transport as a result.
But Transport for London (TfL), the Mayor's agency that oversees the scheme, says it was designed to tackle gridlock and not as a money-making venture. Overall, 80,000 fewer people a day are entering the zone.
But TfL says most are missing because of the downturn in trade, fall in tourist numbers, closure of the Central line earlier this year and the impact of outof-town shopping centres, the mayor's research will claim.
An earlier TfL survey, based on findings three months after the charge was launched on 17 February, revealed that the number of car drivers entering the zone had fallen by 38 per cent.
Overall congestion had reduced by 32 per cent, once lorries, buses and taxis were counted as well.
But today's figure of 50,000 fewer car drivers is the first time that TfL has publicly revealed the full effect on " normal" motorists.
TfL's six-months-on report also reveals road accidents inside the zone have fallen 20 per cent, 30 per cent more cyclists are entering the zone and there has been "significant" traffic displacement around the zone's boundary.
The findings show that 15,000 extra passengers are using buses in the morning rush hour.
TfL admits the zone has had an impact on central London shops, but claims this has been far less than critics have claimed.
Despite surveys by business organisations indicating that traders blame it for fallen profits, TfL says its negative economic impact has been "minimal".
A TfL spokesman said: "It's estimated that the congestion charge scheme is only responsible for around five per cent of the reduction in people coming into the zone." He said the central London economy was already suffering prior to its introduction.
However, the full economic, social and environmental impacts of the scheme will not be available until next spring. Around 110,000 motorists a day continue to pay the charge.
