Tweet
he congestion charge for drivers of 4 x 4 'gas-guzzling' vehicles in central London is to be raised from £8 to £25 per day from October.
Biggest polluters the target
Drivers of around 33,000 vehicles will be affected and Mayor Ken Livingstone's team at Transport for London are so confident of the new move they predict a third of those will drop out of London trips.
The new charge is expected to bring in between £30m and £50m a year, and Mr Livingstone says most of the money will go on new cycling and walking schemes.
Mr Livingstone defended the move by saying the consultation process had revealed that around 71% of Londoners were in favour of it.
"I have every sympathy with a Scottish hill farmer who needs his 4x4 to get around," he said.
"But there is absolutely no justification for cars producing high amounts of pollution being driven in central London.
"This is a small initial change but what is important is the message it sends to the car industry to stop producing high-polluting vehicles."
The £25 charge will apply to vehicles emitting more than 225 grams of CO2 per kilometre (g/k), as well as those registered before March 2001 which have engines larger than 3,000cc.
The vehicles getting a 100% discount from October will emit less than 120g/k.
The Renault Espace with 244g/k faces £25 charge
Despite Mr Livingstone's confidence, not everyone is happy with his latest decision.
A spokesman for business group London First said: "This is just daft - we know this is election year, but encouraging gridlock in the centre of London is no vote winner.
"Band A and B cars do not reduce CO2, they add to it, and they add to congestion which drives up CO2 emissions from the vehicles stuck in the queue behind them.
"The Mayor's policy on congestion is in tatters."
And former Fed Reserve economist Arnold Kling wonders what takes a bigger toll on the environment - owning a dog, or owning an SUV?
"My bet would be on the dog," he says. "I'm thinking of all of the resources that go into dog food."
London Congestion Charge To Treble For Gas Guzzlers |Sky News|Business
Biggest polluters the target
Drivers of around 33,000 vehicles will be affected and Mayor Ken Livingstone's team at Transport for London are so confident of the new move they predict a third of those will drop out of London trips.
The new charge is expected to bring in between £30m and £50m a year, and Mr Livingstone says most of the money will go on new cycling and walking schemes.
Mr Livingstone defended the move by saying the consultation process had revealed that around 71% of Londoners were in favour of it.
"I have every sympathy with a Scottish hill farmer who needs his 4x4 to get around," he said.
"But there is absolutely no justification for cars producing high amounts of pollution being driven in central London.
"This is a small initial change but what is important is the message it sends to the car industry to stop producing high-polluting vehicles."
The £25 charge will apply to vehicles emitting more than 225 grams of CO2 per kilometre (g/k), as well as those registered before March 2001 which have engines larger than 3,000cc.
The vehicles getting a 100% discount from October will emit less than 120g/k.
The Renault Espace with 244g/k faces £25 charge
Despite Mr Livingstone's confidence, not everyone is happy with his latest decision.
A spokesman for business group London First said: "This is just daft - we know this is election year, but encouraging gridlock in the centre of London is no vote winner.
"Band A and B cars do not reduce CO2, they add to it, and they add to congestion which drives up CO2 emissions from the vehicles stuck in the queue behind them.
"The Mayor's policy on congestion is in tatters."
And former Fed Reserve economist Arnold Kling wonders what takes a bigger toll on the environment - owning a dog, or owning an SUV?
"My bet would be on the dog," he says. "I'm thinking of all of the resources that go into dog food."
London Congestion Charge To Treble For Gas Guzzlers |Sky News|Business
Comment