Ken Livingstone has announced an increase in the Congestion Charge to £8. The increase takes effect from 4 July 2005.
The Mayor and Transport for London claim an extra £45 million will be raised by the increase which will then be used to improve public transport in the capital.
Announcing the change the Mayor said “This will build on what has already been achieved in terms of extended bus provision, and in due course providing additional underground capacity,”
The Conservative & Labour partnership which dominates the London Assembly has attacked the increase. Lynne Featherstone, Liberal Democrat London transport spokesperson, said: “Traffic levels in central London are still falling, yet our Labour mayor slams a 60% hike on congestion charges.
Speaking for the Tories, Angela Bray called the increase “a serious blow to many of London’s businesses” adding that they “are already in pain with the current charge level of £5. I suspect they are going to be in agony when it goes to £8.”
