According to official City Hall research, nearly 9,500 Londoners die early each year due to the long-term effects of exposure to air pollution. Flights into and out of Heathrow, and surface transport used to access the airport, are key contributors to the pollution suffered by local residents.
Ms Pidgeon, who currently leads the Liberal Democrat group on the London Assembly, says her proposed new congestion charge zone would help cut traffic congestion and improve air quality.
In 2014 the airport’s owners suggested a similar scheme which they said could help raise money to pay for major improvements to public transport and air quality.
Announcing her proposal, Pidgeon said: ”The Congestion Charge has played an important role in the increase in the use, capacity and reliability of public transport in London, as well as an increase in cycling, all of which means a reduction in congestion.
“But today the Congestion Charge only covers a small very busy area of the city.
“At Heathrow airport there is serious congestion and very poor air quality. So today I am launching a plan to introduce a new congestion charge zone at Heathrow.”
The mayoral hopeful claimed the cost of establishing a localised scheme “would quickly be paid for by the revenue raised”.
Commenting after Ms Pidgeon’s announcement, a spokesperson for Heathrow said: “Heathrow has a strong record in reducing airport-related road traffic, and encouraging public transport use.
“Since 1991, despite almost doubling passenger numbers at the airport, airport-related road traffic has remained largely static and the number of airport passengers who use public transport has grown to around 41%.
“We have called for partners like the Mayor’s office to work with us on a strategy to reduce non-airport road traffic emissions which are the major cause of local pollution – for example by extending London’s low emission zone to the airport area.”
Simon Smiler says
Yes there is a severe problem with air pollution in the Heathrow area but the people behind the road tolling proposals need to remember that if faced with unpleasant / inadequate / overpriced facilities to reach Heathrow (British) air passengers might find it to be very tempting to switch to other airports – even for transatlantic etc., flights eg: the USA via Stansted and Amsterdam. Both Schipol and Paris (CDG) would very much like to become the pre-eminent airports for this part of the globe, a crown which (at present) is held by Heathrow.
And what about the effect on the local communities – whose people are to be financially penalised for wanting to use their cars just so that there can be more air traffic???
Maybe a better way to reduce the number of cars heading to the airport would be to improve the (local) public transports so that they become “viable alternatives” to driving??
As much as possible this public transport should use “off road” fixed infrastructures as buses using the public highway are too easily caught in traffic to be seen as a realistic option. Electric trains, trams, kerb guided buses, monorails, etc. could all fit this requirement.
Proper, 24/7, direct links with towns to the west (eg: Slough) would also encourage both travellers and airport employees from these areas to use public transport.
Since the “stated aim” is to reduce air pollution then it stands to reason that ALL diesel buses in the given area should also be electrified. After all, diesel fuel exhaust is a very significant source of the very pollutants (NoX, PM10, etc.,) which this toll plan was hatched to reduce. Converting the buses to sustainably powered electric trolleybuses would reduce local air pollution – without disbenefiting anyone!
Furthermore, except perhaps for passengers travelling from central”ish” London (is Paddington really “central” London?) or the selected suburban areas fortunate enough to be served by the Heathrow Connect service or the Piccadilly Line underground railway, public transport links from London to Heathrow could be *much* better.
A Stansted Airport / Barking – Stratford – North London Line – Willesden – Heathrow rail service could be started “almost right now”. Virtually the entire route is already electrified (on the overhead wire system). There is no need to wait for Crossrail!
Linking the mainline railway tunnels which serve Heathrow into the third rail Southern Electric network would significantly improve public transport access from south London – helping to reduce overall road traffic levels and consequential air pollution. None of this is rocket science – all it needs are decision makers / (political) leaders who are more interested in adding value to peoples’ lives than just emptying their wallets.
It would also help if Heathrow Airport was served by InterCity high speed trains from the national network (perhaps with “all inclusive” railair fares). At present mainline trains from South Wales and South West England zoom past Heathrow at 125mph. As they are diesels they cannot serve the subterranean airport station – but some of them they could stop – for instance at West Drayton (which is near the airport) or Ealing Broadway (which is already a regional transport hub) – and connect into the electric Heathrow Connect services. Incidentally, both the French and the Dutch airports mentioned above are already connected to their respective national InterCity railway networks.