Question for London, U.K. Folk

[LadyG]

Did they just implement "tolls" on the roads there, leading to the downtown or heart of the city?

They mentioned it on the news here and are talking about implementing the same thing on the main highways leading to the downtown core.

Pro's? Con's?

 

[Guest]

 

[peachykeen]

yeah, congestion charges.

Ever the sunny optimists, everyone said "No! It will cause chaos! Mass confusion! Bad idea! Won't work!"

Well, there were a few glitches, but I tell you what, getting around town has never been easier than it has been this past week. Almost zero traffic, anywhere. My buss commute time cut in half.

No complaints here!

 

[sexy-girl]

well they are no where near me really they are only in central london and traffic in central london had a average speed that was slower then when they had horse drawn carts

the traffic already has cut by 25% since last week ... that means everything can move much faster which should help stuff


the problem is the public transport hasn't caught up and won't for a while

also its a bummer for retail businesses that live just inside the zone because people won't drive there now

 

[LadyG]

Hmmm, I never thought of the businesses being down until you mentioned it.

As much as I used to love to drive to work downtown, I stopped because the parking prices can go as high as $20 per day plus while it took 20 minutes to get there, going home sometimes took up to an hour.

Transit takes 40 minutes, no stress, no hassle.

 

[MagicMan]

Yeah the taxing British scum!

more tax from rip off Britain.

Pro's = none

Con's = ripped off


Although traffic is down just now, it's just a matter of weeks/months until it goes back to its original level.

Not sure whether I agree totally the way it's been done but...what would be your answer Hanns?

 

[LovetoGiveRoses]

Interesting concept. I wonder why the merchants who depend on auto traffic didn't raise more of a rucus.

 

[QuickDuck]

It was first done (as i understand it) by the Italians a few years back for Rome.

the UK liked the idea and so the mayor of London brought in a similar scheme.

5 pounds ($15 AUD) for the day as i understand and it seems to be working for now.

 

[peachykeen]

Interesting concept. I wonder why the merchants who depend on auto traffic didn't raise more of a rucus.

What merchants that depend on auto traffic? It's central London. It's not that big a geographical area that is included, and within it are the city's oldest and narrowest streets, and there is no 'drive through' anything, and while public transport might not be an absolute dream, it is certainly quite functional (provided the tube drivers aren't on strike, but that's a whole other issue...) and frankly now that one out of every five cars is now out of the way, the busses have been running pretty darn well, I haven't had to wait longer than 6 minutes since last Monday. Maybe the guys who run parking garages are getting hit, I dunno, but who else?

Being from the NY area originally, I couldn't see what the huge fuss is; if you want to drive into Manhattan, you can't possibly do it without paying a toll for a highway or a bridge or a tunnel, often more than one, so what's so different about this?

 

[shopperst]

It's working really well so far.
ANything is better than the mess that was central London.

 

[bluespoke]

Am I glad that I stopped driving to the City a few years ago.

Whew!

Still, my car is exempt!

 

[LadyG]

Oh the outcry here is hysterical. Everyone is freaking out, but they wouldn't do something as simple as car pool, no.....

This morning, every major highway leading into the city had an accident on it, bad enough to hold up traffic for hours.

Chaos, but would we take the train or transit...nope.

Bah, I say highways leading into the city should have tolls on them, and higher ones for those with only one person in the vehicle.