From the 19th February 2007, the Congestion Charging zone has been extended to the west of the capital. You've emailed BBC London with your views about the new extension. Here are a selection: (keep emailing your views and experiences on the extension by emailing us at [email protected])
I am curious, what exactly happens to the money collected for Congestion charges? As this is supposed to be a green tax, I am curious why we are not hearing reports about the money being used for development of cleaner or alternative fuels? I think the increase of the congestion charge zone has probably been made to make up the shortfall on the Olympics financial mess! I certainly have not seen any green changes to London since they have been collecting this money.
Julie Bird I am a London cabby,
The congestion charge is nothing but a tax. congestion in the old zone has not improved there are less cars but there is less roads for them to move on what with bus lanes 1000 more 54ft long buses and ajusted traffic lights.
There are over 3/4 million uninsured cars in and around London get them off the roads before picking on honest drivers. Ray from welling Of course the area should NOT be further extended – nor indeed should it have been extended into Chelsea & Kensington. Congestion charging is nothing but a penalty to the motorist – with punitive impacts on shops and businesses within the area. It would be interesting to know the real cost of putting in place the extended zone – manpower, cameras, line painting, marketing materials, advertisements, commissions on payment sales, etc etc versus the actual revenue – for the original zone has not had the desired impact. If only there were the promised improvements in the public transport infrastructure, other than those convenient to the mayor and his cronies: I see only an anti-motorist attitude and poor bus service south of the river, with some very poorly driven buses, no improvements in the tube and little in the rail network either. All expensive alternatives, unless of course you are Mayor Ken or a member of TFL and doubtless enjoy free or reduced cost travel. Jo Newman I live in west London and on the rare trips I've been eastwards to Kent or Essex the roads are always seriously congested. This is rarely the case when I travel out of London to the West or within the new Western zone. Why did Ken Livingstone extend the Congestion Zone into West London when the residents said they did not want it and when the roads here are hardly ever congested? Why does Ken Livingstone never suggest extending the zone to the east? If Mr Livingstone really wanted to stop congestion he'd scrap his Western zone and move his ridiculous charge eastwards. Matthew Steeples I am really quite angry about the expansion of the congestion charge into west London. I live and have shop close to Fulham Broadway on the North End Rd and my daughter goes to school inside the zone. This means that I will have to pay the con charge for the school run! I think this is unfair and absolutely ridiculous! Anyway there is no real congestion on my daily trip to Holland Park. The extension of the congestion charge to west London is not about congestion, it is about Ken raising revenues for his inefficient and overpriced TFL and attacking the car drivers of west London. It is a joke!! I hope London votes him out at the next elections,… And what about the effect on local business. There is already real congestion in the North End Rd which will only get worse on Feb 19th. Nice one Ken! Andy I think its outrageous, and yet another TAX, typical of red Ken. What i want to know, where is all the billions of pounds we're paying going, nothing has been outlined just like the new TAX on fuel. Will the congestion charge be funding the olympics, which now suddenly is rocketing out of control, how can they get it SO WRONG.
Christina Lunnon My wife and I have lived at or near Luton, 30 miles north of London, for most of our lives. We're now retired with plenty of spare time. London used to be a place we visited frequently. My first job was for the Air Ministry based at Adastral House in the Kingsway. I lodged during the week with an aunt in Effie Rd , Fulham, returning to Luton most weekends. Often I walked from Adastral House to Fulham after work. So I was very familiar with London.
My wife was friendly with Una Wilson, wife of musical arranger Dennis Wilson - Steptoe and Son - Bruce Forsyth shows, and so on. She sometimes gave my wife, me and two daughters complimentary tickets for recordings of shows. So over the years we travelled to different parts of London by car. It was a comfortable journey with no problem in parking. We also did shopping trips to London, being able to park in the side street outside Marks and Sparks, Oxford St for example. Also other London journeys were made for various reasons, one favourite being Covent Garden on a Sunday morning. Now however London to us is a no go area.
We are unsure where the Parking Zone starts and ends - time limits etc. Last time my wife and I went to London about 18 months ago was by train. We hoped to shop, buy a cheaper show ticket in Leicester Square have a meal and then home. However we were unsuccessful in obtaining a ticket, went instead to the National Art Gallery (Free), bought a mediocre meal. Day cost us over £100 although we did no shopping. Also had an uncomfortable encounter with yobs on the train home. So now we have abandoned visits to London almost completely going often instead, in our car, to Milton Keynes. It's a comfortable half hour ride with plenty of free parking. The theatre and restaurants are good, also some first class shows - Welsh National Opera is one of our favourite companies.
This is an example of changes in our life style partly due to London congestion charges, that is quite frequent visits to London being reduced to nearly none at all.
Jean and Selwyn,
Luton My views of the extended congestion charge is of pure greed & bullying by Ken Livingstone. With over 70% of the people of Kensington & Chelsea opposed to this "scam" Ken steamrolls his dreaded C-Charge on the good people of this borough. I spent the 1st 30 years of my life in K&C and like my family the majority of the the people in North Kensington are working class. So much for "Red Ken" and his peoples liberator tag that he likes to portray. No doubt he will cock it up just as he did when he was in charge of the old GLC. I have kept faith with my old part of London and send my children to a school in Portbello Road. It's a very good school hence the reason we travel across nw London to get there by car. Yes we drive like most people do now days, roads were built for that. Now with this "stealth tax" imposed we have no option but to move our children to another school which no doubt will put even more strain on working couples like ourselves. In other words crippling families. Thanks Ken you are as useful as a parachute with a hole in it. Thank you the BBC for letting out my views, something that Ken's lot dont care about. Albert Garcia I am an Elder of St Columba's Church of Scotland in Pont Street, Knightsbridge. I have followed in my father's footsteps as he was an Elder before me. I was married in St Columba's and my children were baptised there and attended Sunday School. I have lived in Hertfordshire for some years but have continued to attend St Columba's and am a member of several organisations within the Church. When the new, widened Congestion Charge zone comes into force, I shall find it difficult to attend weeknight meetings - they usually start between 6 and 6.30pm, and the parking charges even for a short while are quite expensive on top of the petrol costs of travel. Living where I do, travelling home late at night by public transport is not an alternative. Now that I will not be able to avoid an extra £8.00 each time I wish to attend my Church, I am having to think seriously about whether I can continue to afford it. Thank you, Ken for adding to the pressures on life. One day I might be able to afford a Prius or Civic Hybrid, but until then, I shall just have to cough up to Ken to allow me entrance into his Kingdom so I can worship in mine! So much for tolerance, inclusivity and freedom to worship where and as we wish. Kate Macnish Yet again a congestion charge being introduced at the beginning of half term so that they can show pictures of how little traffic there is. I hope you also show pictures of the effects in the following weeks.
J. Burgess I live in North Wales but work in London. I rent an apartment on the very edge of the zone in Pimlico. Because my car is registered at my home in North Wales I am unable to claim any reduction in Congestion Charge. I probably spend more time in London than home. I find it difficult to get in touch with someone who can see reason. I do not object to the charge in principle but feel that this sort of bureaucracy will undermine the initiative. Nick As a mother of one who is also a Childminder, I regularly have two toddlers and a baby with me at my home on Prince of Wales Drive in Battersea. I do rely on my car a great deal to get from activities, nursery, picking up children etc. And it is physically impossible to get a triple buggy onto a standard bus! The extention to the CC zone will curtail our options severely and make life very difficult to say the least. My husband has his own business based at Chelsea Harbour and regularly has to drive into the Zone to make deliveries - we have already seen how badly the original zone has affected businesses within it - and are extremely concerned about what the future holds. But at the end of the day, what really gets me is that the Mayor spent all that money on a so-called 'consultation period' based on the zone being at a reduced charge - and then totally ignored ALL the advice and responses he received and not only went ahead, but also decided to put it at the same rate as the rest of the zone. Outrageous! Well, at least Mr. Livingstone will be able to afford it himsefl (if indeed he pays it) - Since he came into office the cost to London of having a Mayor has doubled, I gather .. what a surprise! I did contact the Mayor's office to find out how they would suggest I get around London with the children, but not surprisingly they haven't come back to me! I see this as an infringement of my civil liberties - and those of my children. Emma Lack Before the extension even starts, I predict that:
1. the congestion round the edge, especially along the Thames at Cheyne Walk, and on the the toll-free road through Victoria will be much greater than we have been told.
2. The toll-free road will have to be abandoned, as public transport and emergency servoces find it too congested.
3. The charge will become a routine tax, increasing whenever the Mayor wants.
John Goulden
London I'm a driver, and I'm delighted that the zone is being extended.
If we don't drive it'll be free. Those who really need to drive won't pay either. I'm really looking forwards to quiter and safer streets, and delighted to be encouraged to use a bus or my bike. James, Ladbroke Grove I live on the perimeter of the new western extension zone and am entitled to the 90% discount. However, I am opposed to this tax on what the Mayor sees as a wealthy area, despite not using my car during the week. If I need to move my car from a suspended bay at short notice I risk paying £4 to avoid a hefty parking fine. Seeing as Ken ignored the unfavourable results of the expensive consultation that he carried out, I think he should repay the wasted cost of it to the affected councils to be spent on local projects. Laura, West Brompton I wish this would mean quieter streets, but all it means is more people switching to loud motorcycles and keeping residents in the congestion zone awake at night and with a less noise pollution. Please give some attention in your reporting, we always hear about the poor car drivers. Matt | 
