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#Post#: 10611--------------------------------------------------
Road User Charging -TfL
DIR By: John U.K.
Date: November 19, 2023, 9:40 am
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From
HTML https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/11/18/london-drivers-pay-billions-charges-ulez-sadiq-khan/
--- Quote ---
> London drivers paid nearly £2.7bn in charges over last five
years
>
> Telegraph analysis reveals the total spend by motorists on
Ulez, congestion charge and Lez through fines and daily fees has
surged
> By Jack Simpson, Transport Correspondent 18 November 2023 •
1:38pm
>
> Drivers in London have been forced to pay nearly £2.7 billion
over the last five years on road user charges, it can be
revealed.
> [justify]Analysis by The Telegraph has found that the total
spend by motorists in that period on Ulez, the congestion charge
and Lez through fines and daily charges hit a staggering
£2.67bn.
> Last year alone, Transport for London (TfL) received nearly
£956m from the three charges, which marks a near four-fold
increase from the £234m raised in 2019.
> Louie French, the Conservative MP for Old Bexley and Sidcup,
said: “Sadiq Khan’s war on the motorist shows little sign of
ending and these eye watering sums highlight again how he has
sought to fill the blackhole in TfL’s finances from the pockets
of hardworking drivers in London and the South East.”
> The new figures come after driving in London became even more
expensive in August, with the Ulez zone expanded to all
boroughs.
> New tolls for the Blackwall and Silvertown Tunnel are also set
to be introduced in 2025, which could cost £8.50 to travel
through.
> An increasing number of London councils are also introducing
emissions-based parking, which could see some drivers having to
pay more than £1,000 a year just to park their cars.
> The Telegraph’s analysis of TfL annual accounts since 2019/20
reveals that when the £2.7bn is offset by the costs of setting
up and running the schemes, more than £1.5bn has entered the
transport body’s coffers.
> Ulez, which costs £12.50 per day for non-compliant cars, is
the biggest revenue earner, having netted £931m for Sadiq Khan,
the London Mayor, since April 2019.
> The total amount paid by drivers has continued to grow, with
the revenue hitting £480m last year, more than double the £225m
made the year before. And this figure is set to increase
further with the expansion of the Ulez zone to all 32 London
boroughs. Mr Khan’s own projections expect the expanded zone to
net £459m in the next financial year, or £180m when costs are
factored in. This will grow to £666m in 2024/25, or £198m with
costs.
> It is only by 2027 that the Mayor expects the income from Ulez
to be negligible.
> Ulez for inner London was the brainchild of Boris Johnson when
he was London mayor and was supported by Mr Khan, who brought it
in a year earlier than planned.
> The Congestion Charge, which costs £15 for motorists to enter
central London, was brought in by Ken Livingstone, and has
collected £358m from drivers in the past five years. Lez,
which was also brought in by Mr Livingstone, is exclusively for
commercial vehicles and can charge up to £300 a day for entering
central London. Drivers have paid £169m over five years.
> TfL insists the money made from Ulez is being reinvested into
running and improving London’s transport network. But opposition
politicians have accused the Mayor of using it to fix TfL’s huge
multi-billion pound debt.
> Keith Prince, the Tory transport spokesman at City Hall, said:
“As the self-appointed Chair of TfL, Sadiq Khan has turned TfL
into a financial basket case with debt of £14bn. “As Mayor, he
is waging war on motorists to try to plug the blackhole he
created in TfL’s finances. Expanding Ulez to outer London is
expected to earn TfL around £500m in the first year. New tolls
on both the Blackwall and Silvertown tunnels will bring in
additional revenue.”
> Mr French added: “London is now officially the slowest city in
the world to drive and Sadiq Khan is planning to further hammer
motorists by introducing a toll on the Blackwall Tunnel from
2025. “Mr Khan now wants to charge drivers up to £8.50 per
crossing, which could see van drivers from Bexley having to pay
over £40 per day to work in central London. £15 congestion
charge, £12.50 Ulez and £17 toll (up to £8.50 each way).”
> A TfL spokesperson said: “The Ultra Low Emission Zone and
other road charging schemes in London, such as the congestion
charge, are vital in tackling the triple challenges of air
pollution, the climate emergency and congestion. “The health
benefits of cleaner air will save the NHS billions of pounds and
the Mayor’s policies will reduce the enormous costs of
congestion on London’s economy, estimated at £5.7bn last year.
It’s expected that the Ulez will generate no surplus within a
few years and in the meantime any income is being reinvested
back into public transport to bring better services, including
walking and cycling routes, the bus network in outer London –
such as the roll out of the Superloop network, and funding to
London’s boroughs so they can improve their roads.”[/justify]
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