Congestion charge zone in UK capital to be expanded

LONDON, Feb 17 (Reuters) London's congestion charge zone, already the world's biggest, is set to double in size on Monday in a bid to cut traffic and pollution, despite objections from businesses and national anti-road toll campaigners.

So successful has the existing charge zone been, with vehicle numbers down about ten per cent four years after it started, that cities in the U.S. and Europe are following suit and the government is planning national road tolls from 2015.

But the plans to extend road pricing schemes to highways and urban centres throughout the country to ease bottlenecks have faced widespread opposition, leaving the government with tough choices if it wants motorists to pay for each mile they drive.

''Britain is pushing harder on the whole question of road pricing than any other democracy in the world,'' said former government transport advisor David Begg. ''But that brings the radical politicians into conflict with a sceptical public.'' So far 1.5 million people have signed a petition against a national scheme on Prime Minister Tony Blair's Downing Street Web site in a campaign that ends next Tuesday.

Congestion in Britain has become a major headache for the government and businesses with more than 30 million cars clogging the roads in a nation of 60 million people.

While the aim of the eight pound daily charge on all vehicles in the new London zone extending from Hyde Park to Earl's Court is to cut congestion and journey time, it is expected to boost traffic in the original congestion zone.

Cameras snap every vehicle entering the zone and match up the licence plates with a database of payments, dishing out fines of up to 100 pounds to those that don't pay up.

Michele Dix, London's congestion charge chief, said the western extension of the zone would cut traffic levels by 10-15 per cent, but conversely increase traffic by one percent in the existing area because of the 90 percent discount to residents.

CHEAPER THAN A BUS JOURNEY The extended zone will take in London's landmark classical concert venue the Albert Hall and top shopping areas such as Chelsea's Kings Road, Knightsbridge, which is home to luxury store Harrods, Kensington and Notting Hill.

Businesses have complained the zone is uneconomic.

''We are not against congestion charging as such, but it has hurt our members and not enough is known about the economic impacts, so we want an independent enquiry,'' said Colin Stanbridge of the London Chamber of Commerce.

Putting in the 693 cameras at 137 sites has cost more than 100 million pounds. Net revenues are expected to be 25-40 million pounds a year. Money from the new scheme is supposed to buy more buses and improve roads and cycle paths.

But lobby group the Confederation of British Industry said it was not value for money, and a local residents' group said it expected revenues to be at the low end of the scale and it would therefore achieve very little net benefit.

While Dix only predicts a tiny increase in traffic in the original zone, other calculations suggest road use there could rise as much as 5 percent -- in effect a halving of the traffic reduction achieved there.

Instead of paying the full daily charge to drive anywhere in the enlarged 38 square km area, the 60,000 residents in the new western zone will only pay 80 pence, less than a bus journey.

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