London ‘clobbers’ fleets with 17% congestion charge hike

Changes to the London Congestion Charge announced by Transport for London last month mean that businesses on the fleet scheme will face a 17 per cent hike from 16 June – from £9 to £10.50 per day.

The Freight Transport Association (FTA) has criticised the increase, pointing out that it is higher than the increase for casual users, and calling it “an unfair tax on businesses which have no option other than to use the city’s roads.”

Natalie Chapman, FTA’s head of policy for London, said: “Commercial vehicles making essential deliveries, such as keeping the capital’s shelves stocked and supplying London’s hospitals should be exempt from the Congestion Charge.

“But not only are they forced to pay to use the road network in central London, they have now been unfairly clobbered with a bigger rise than casual users of the scheme.”

FTA says it welcomes the charge’s aim to reduce congestion and CO2 emissions and improve air quality, by deterring discretionary or non-essential trips into the capital.

“But it is not feasible to deliver goods on public transport,” the association pointed out, “nor are alternative modes practical for the door-to-door deliveries that central London requires.

“Additionally, there are no charge-free breaks in the daytime to encourage deliveries to be made outside of rush hour. Prior to the Congestion Charge starting at 07.00 Monday to Friday, the movements of heavy goods vehicles are restricted by the London Lorry Control Scheme (LLCS) – also known as the ‘London Lorry Ban’.

“The LLCS then starts again at 21.00, leaving only three nonrestricted hours a day in central London from 18.00 to 21.00 and only Saturday mornings at weekends. Clearly this is not enough to support the capital’s needs for goods deliveries.”

Said Chapman: “The logistics industry helped TfL to deliver a successful Olympics and a big part of the Games legacy for our industry has been a greater recognition of the essential role we play in keeping London fed and watered. So we are particularly disappointed that we face such a steep rise in the cost of supporting London’s economy.”