From the 19 February 2007, the Congestion Charging zone will extend to the west of Central London to cover the areas of Bayswater, Notting Hill, North and South Kensington, High Street Kensington, Knightsbridge, Chelsea, Belgravia and Pimlico.
The Mayor of London (Ken Livingstone), introduced the Greater London (Central Zone) Congestion Charging Scheme in February 2003 which initially covered people driving throughout an eight-square-mile zone of central London (ie: the West End, Waterloo Southwark, Lambeth & City of London). Recently it was reported that Ken Livingstone admitted the capital's congestion charge could be extended as far as Greenwich, South East London.
Drivers entering the zone were originally charged £5 ($10) when it was introduced in 2003, rising to £8 ($16) in 2005. The daily charge must be paid by the registered owner of a vehicle that enters, leaves or moves around within the congestion charge zone between 7am - 6pm, Monday to Friday. Failure to pay this charge incurs a fine of at least £50 ($100). However last year, in a televised debate, Ken Livingstone announced proposals to raise this charge to £10 ($20) a day by 2008.
Furthermore the Mayor of London proposes to raise the daily traffic congestion charge for 4x4 cars in central London from £8 to £25 ($50) from June or July 2008. Even those owners of such big vehicles who live within the zone will lose their existing "resident discount" and will have to pay £25, according to the proposal. These residents currently pay £0.80 ($1.60) a day when they drive within the zone.
Meanwhile congestion in central London is almost as bad as it was before the daily charge was introduced four years ago, according to official figures.
The above information is available on various websites. While some of these proposals are just that, I'm somewhat reminded of the following old adage:
If you put a frog into a pot of boiling water, it will leap out right away to escape the danger.
But if you place it in a pot of cool water and slowly raise the temperature up to boiling point, the frog won't jump out - it will get accustomed to the increasing heat and eventually get boiled alive.
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