Fleets to be hit by TfL plans for congestion - news

FLEETS WILL FACE SOARING costs if Ken Livingstone's plans to expand London's congestion charging zone to Westminister, Kensington and Chelsea go ahead.

Transport for London (TfL) has announced a 10-week public consultation period on the charging scheme to discuss proposals to extend the existing zone as well as increase the cost of Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs).

"We want to see the proposals in much more detail if we are to be convinced that a congestion charge can be effectively extended to reduce traffic without unfairly penalising people's journeys and their purses," said an RAC spokesperson.

Extending the current congestion charge zone to cover Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea would increase revenues by up to 10m [pounds sterling] per annum which would be invested in London's transport system, making up for the shortfall after the system's first year of operation.

Small fleets would receive some recompense for the changes in the form of a reduction of the fleet scheme vehicle threshold from 25 to 10, enabling them to take advantage of the benefits of the scheme.

If the proposals are successful, reduced rate PCNs would rise from 40 [pounds sterling] to 50 [pounds sterling], full rate PCNs from 80 [pounds sterling] to 100 [pounds sterling] and clamping fees up to 65 [pounds sterling] from 45 [pounds sterling]. The changes to the current charges would "bring them in line with other penalty charges in central London, such as parking and bus lane enforcement, and would increase compliance," said a TfL spokesperson.

Further proposals include widening payment opportunities; revising the eligibility criteria for the NHS patients' reimbursement scheme by removing the minimum income requirement and revising the eligibility criteria for the residents' 90% discount by requiring vehicles to be registered at an address within the congestion charging zone.

* For further information on the congestion charging and whether it is perceived to have been a benefit, see our feature on p26.

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