Sadiq Khan to ‘end temporary ?15 congestion charge’

Sadiq Khan has announced plans to end the “temporary” ?15 congestion charge (C-charge) ahead of the London mayoral election next month.

The levy was hiked from ?11.50 to ?15 last June and its hours were extended until 10pm, including at weekends, as part of plans to inject some cash into the struggling Transport for London (TfL) network.

But Mr Khan told an LBC hustings event on Sunday that if he were re-elected as mayor on 6 May, he would “be negotiating with the government so we don’t have to have it seven days a week or up until 10pm”.

The price hike was one of the many requirements imposed by the government last year in return for issuing TfL a multi-billion-pound bailout after the pandemic caused its finances to take a hit.

Mr Khan, who serves as chair of the transport network as part of his mayoral duties, also said at the time it would help to tackle rising levels of traffic in central London.

TfL raised ?113m in the year to March as a result of the levy – and the policy was expected to remain in place for some time to help fund free travel for over-60s and children, which the government no longer funds.

However, critics have attacked the move, claiming Mr Khan’s decision to abandon the temporary increase ran counter to his vow to avoid a car-led recovery from coronavirus.

Sian Berry, the Green party’s candidate for the mayoralty, told the Evening Standard: “These comments show that the current mayor simply isn’t serious about cutting traffic in London.”

Meanwhile, the Lib Dem’s candidate Luisa Porritt told the paper: “This is a backwards-looking mayor with no forward-thinking plan for London’s recovery. How can we take Khan’s self-professed green credentials seriously when he’s plotting a dangerous and unfair car-led recovery?”

It comes as Mr Khan insisted over the weekend he was not “anti-car”, despite calling on Londoners to “give up” their vehicles.

“Where you can give up using cars, I would encourage that,” he told the Sunday Times.

Maintaining the ?15 levy and longer operating hours beyond the autumn – the charge normally operates 7am to 6.30pm Monday to Friday – would have to be approved by a London-wide consultation.

Speaking about the C-charge, Mr Khan told LBC yesterday that he was keen to return to “some sense of normality as the pandemic ends”.

The current mayor provisionally suspended the levy on 23 March last year to enable essential workers to drive to work during lockdown but reintroduced it on 18 May, after car traffic was found to be six per cent above pre-lockdown levels.

However Mr Khan’s apparent U-turn suggests he is not willing to ask drivers to pay a higher C-charge at the same time as expanding the ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) to the edges of London. The zone is set to cost drivers ?12.50-a-day from 25 October.

“It’s the poorest Londoners who are least likely to own cars who suffer the worst consequences of bad quality of air,” he told LBC.

“It’s children living in the poorest parts of London who will have stunted lungs forever because of the bad quality air, and adults who don't own cars who have heart conditions and cancer because of poor quality air.”

Both the Greens and Lib Dems favour replacing the congestion charge and Ulez with a system of “smart” road-pricing. Shaun Bailey, the Conservative candidate, also said he would axe the ?15 C-charge and return it to ?11.50 on weekdays, and cancel the Ulez expansion.

The most recent TfL data shows that 46,489 drivers paid the C-charge daily at the end of 2020, about three-quarters of pre-pandemic levels.

Sadiq Khan’s office has been approached for comment.