To ask Londoners about the (seemingly sneaky) changes in TfL’s congestion charge?

[Piglet89]

We drove to visit friends on other side of London on Saturday 18 July. Today, we received an £80 penalty notice - because the days when Congestion charge is payable apparently changed on 22 June from just weekdays to include weekends.

tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2020/june/temporary-changes-to-the-congestion-charge-to-secure-safe-recovery

Seems this was really poorly publicised; I have an account with TfL and receive regular email travel updates from them: but nothing about this. We had no idea at all.

Anyone else suffered a similar misfortune? Strikes me as an incredibly easy way to shaft people out of cash, particularly if poorly publicised and, unlike Dartford Tunnel fee, you don’t get a chance to pay the charge within 24 hours or whatever.

I agree that it's unfair to impose such a high charge for a first offence under new rules and it's a money spinner. They could have given you an option to pay, say half within a short time, like parking penalties, and included a big note to say the charges have changed. I drove towards the Zone the other day and didn't see any notices warning people. I don't dare go into the Zone anymore because of all the stupid road changes. I knew my way around very well but couldn't risk it now because of all these stupid "temporary" cycle lanes. In Camden last week, apparently members of the public got out of their cars and pushed the barriers to the side to get back a lane. By magic the barriers were removed altogether overnight. It's creating vigilantes!

Although obviously the key objective is reducing car usage and pollution, I feel that some things are blatant money spinners.i drove an elderly relative home on a bank holiday and got fined for being in a bus lane. The buses were on a bh service and I dont think I saw a single bus in a 2.5 hour round trip!

I don’t believe the key objective was to ever deter people from using their cars and managing pollution

It was from the start a money making venture it brings in huge amounts of money for TFL. If the objective was pollution control more roads would be cit off to anything but business/emergency vehicles or for residents. There would be much higher taxes on larger cars (this creates more traffic) yet London is a city full of range rovers 🙄 and other such large cars that are not suited to a city like London

They could have given you an option to pay, say half within a short time,

They do. The charge is £160 - discounted to £80 if you pay within 14 days.

Central London, I.e. the congestion zone, isn't largely full of Range Rovers and there is a distinct anti-car ideology taking over without much consultation or forward planning and modelling

@daisypond I knew someone would say that.

The “full price” penalty is so egregiously huge at £160 already; £80 may “officially” be half - but £80 is still a lot of money to any sort of reasonable, average citizen, so frankly you’d have to be a total idiot to believe that it is really any sort of concession.

Christ on a bike (or bus), I didn't realise £80 was half the fine!

When people stopped using cars during March air quality improved massively, Khan has wanted his legacy to be cleaner air, so he has chosen to charge people to drive in London, hoping that it will reduce number of polluting cars in London

TfL owns most of the roads in cental london so they have to implement it and collect the money.

It wasn't designed solely to bring in money for tfl.

You can't argue the facts, every major city around the world reported better air quality with significantly reduced vehicles on the road.

Quite frankly he should just ban vehicles in Central London, with ao many tube stops, buses u don't need to drive but that is much harder sell.to your voting public,you think if Khan put that out as his manifesto people would vote for him? Heck no.

He got elected aa one of his main pledges was to freeze fares and he did screwing up revenue for tfl. It was one of the key voting winning pledges, on the other hand the other candidates didn't pledge the same and guess what they didn't get voted in.

@cyclingmad Sometimes you do need to drive. I visit clients (well not now but normally)with huge amounts of equipment. I can't possibly carry everything on the tube. I use Uber but if the client has a car park, I drive.

I almost never go to London but I'd heard about this on the BBC

[quote Piglet89]@daisypond I knew someone would say that.

The “full price” penalty is so egregiously huge at £160 already; £80 may “officially” be half - but £80 is still a lot of money to any sort of reasonable, average citizen, so frankly you’d have to be a total idiot to believe that it is really any sort of concession.[/quote]
You’re quite right. £160 is completely outrageous.

Quite frankly he should just ban vehicles in Central London, with ao many tube stops, buses
And deliveries? And there’s 1 tube sto0 in south east London, last train is c.1am- as for buses, millions empty going down oxford street daily- that they could calm

I said that London is a city with a large number of Range Rover it’s not a city car it’s a fashionable car for many very few need such a car

Large cars create more pollution and more traffic if the congestion charge was about pollution and traffic their would be higher taxes for such cars which no mayor is brave enough to enforce (yes of course there would be exceptions)

Yes ban cars not delivery vehicles, look thats his vision,.im just stating it...

They have to start to tax delivery vans as well, there is far too many of them and they mostly disregard parking restrictions, they let their engines run all the time and the are very polluting.

Sneaky, well known over a month old announcement

We started a scheme so that deliveries were made to outside the CC

OP have you paid CC before, is it your first offence?

We started a scheme so that deliveries were made to outside the CC

So the people who live outside the CC have to put up with them?

My husband was driving. First offence. He’s never been late paying CC though could count on finger of one hand the number of times he’s had to pay it.

No chardenney, they are puttng up with it anyway the traffic go through tthat way anyway but just condensed down from there into central london

I suppose you are right, they do anyway, but I still think they need to be taxed and they need to be regulated somehow.

There’s far too many, completely disorganised and completely ignoring any rules. I’m feed you with then blocking the streets because there is nowhere to park and letting their engines run and speeding.

@EveryDayIsADuvetDay

I hate Sadiq Khan but this one was the Tories

No, it wasn't - part of the deal of emergency funding for TFL was that the congestion charge was reintroduced (it had been suspended for about six weeks at the start of lockdown).
It was Khan's decision to extend the hours (it now runs until 10pm rather than 6pm) and add weekends. It will also apply between Christmas and New Year.

Clearly one of Khan's better thought out ideas to revive the London economy

TFL was given funding by the government who told The Mayor changes that needed to be made to repay, CC, children’s tickets needing to be paid for and reducing when pensioners can travel free.