London's congestion charge was extended westwards yesterday, with the day reported as calm.
The zone which you'll have to pay £8 a day to enter now includes the residential areas of Belgravia, Kensington, Bayswater and Notting Hill -- very different in character from the tightly packed commercial centre which was the original charging zone.
Whether you approve of the charge or not, it's most likely to be judged a success or not based on whether it meets its objectives. So, can it?
According to Transport for London's figures, there remains congestion in the commercial centre, much of it caused by the way that public transport has been given priority via bus lanes and the like. However, most traffic in the city consists of commercial vehicles, and cars were only ever a small proportion of the traffic.
In the west end of London, things are different, since people live there, and car journeys are far more likely to start and end there, and private cars make up most of the traffic.
But since a large proportion of the journeys will undertaken by people who live there, a charge is unlikely to change that behaviour much. What's more, since the charge will be reduced for residents, it won't even make enough money to pay for improved public transport -- one of the key benefits trumpeted for the charge.
Also, since they've already paid the discounted charge, residents can drive anywhere inside the zone -- including into the city. So one strong possibility is that congestion in the city will get worse as those who live in the residential areas make use of their new-found freedom. The only way this could change is by a more sophisticated form of road charging.
Without that, the extended congestion zone might -- just might -- be adjudged a waste of time and money.
As for the rest of us, we have to hope that the political obstacles to introducing a per-car surveillance system will persuade the politicians that we don't want to go any further down the Big Brother route that Britain, the most surveilled nation in the world, has already travelled.
The petition on the Prime Minister's Web site against road charging has reached nearly 1.7 million signatures...
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