Congestion Charging

Congestion Charging
Road User Charging
Transport for London
June 2015
Contents
• Background and Key Milestones
• Why Congestion Charging was Introduced
• Scheme Operations and Enforcement
• Complementary Measures
• Scheme Impacts
• Scheme Costs and Revenues
• Reviewing the Scheme
• Key Lessons Learned
• Contact Details
Background & Institutional Developments
•
Development of the current central London scheme traced to election of Labour
Government in May 1997.
•
Government published Green Paper on establishing a directly-elected Mayor of
London & Assembly; backed by 1998 referendum.
•
Subsequent Government White Paper included powers for the Mayor to implement
road user charging and retain the revenues.
•
In 1998 Government established working group of technical experts (ROCOL – Road
Charging Options for London) to explore how a Mayor might use powers.
•
1999 Greater London Authority Act became law.
•
2000 ROCOL working group published report concluding road user charging in central
London potentially feasible, effective and acceptable.
•
May 2000, Ken Livingstone was elected Mayor of London, with manifesto commitment
to consult on road user charging and adopted proposals of ROCOL working group.
•
Initial public consultation in July 2000 ‘Hearing London’s Views’, followed by
consultation on more detailed proposals in draft Transport Strategy in Nov 2000.
Key Project Milestones
•
Following the election of Mayor Livingstone, Transport for London (TfL) was
charged with taking forward the development of a congestion charging scheme.
•
January 2001: a strategic plan for delivery of congestion charging in central London
agreed by the Mayor; TfL assembled delivery team to introduce scheme in 2003.
•
July 2001: TfL commenced consultation on Greater London (Central Zone)
Congestion Charging Order, which set out specific details of scheme.
•
2001: TfL undertook OJEU procurement for key service provider contract; Capita
Business Services appointed in February 2002.
•
March 2002: Government approved the Mayor’s plans to spend net revenues.
•
July 2002: Application for Judicial Review of scheme rejected by High Court.
•
Late 2002 - Early 2003: Extensive public information campaign undertaken to inform
Londoners and visitors of nature and details of scheme.
•
February 17, 2003: Central London Congestion Charging scheme successfully
introduced.
Why was Congestion Charging necessary?
• Despite 85% public transport usage, vehicular traffic major problem
• 185,000 cars entered central London each day
• Central London most congested area in UK; traffic speeds <9mph
• Congestion persisted throughout the day
• Congestion cost London an estimated £4 billion
• To address this, area-based charging scheme introduced in central
London in February 2003
• Objectives of scheme:
- Reduce traffic and traffic congestion
- Raise revenue to re-invest in transport.
Central London Congestion Charging Zone
Central London Congestion Charging Zone
Operations and Enforcement
Charge Payment
•
Monday – Friday, 7am – 6pm
•
£11.50 on the day of travel
•
£14 on the charging day after
travel
•
£10.50 for customers on CC
Auto Pay
•
Daily, weekly, monthly or annual
payment for individual vehicle
registration number
Payment Channels
• Pay online at www.TfL.gov.uk/cc
• Pay by mobile phone text message
• Pay by phone on 0343 222 2222
• Pay by post
• CC Auto Pay
• Fleet Auto Pay
Charge Transactions by Channel
CC Autopay Accounts
Exemptions and Discounts
•
Buses, coaches & minibuses
•
Licensed minicabs & taxis
•
Motorbikes, mopeds & cycles
•
•
Ultra Low Emission Discount
(ULED): cars or vans which emit
75g/km or less of CO2 & Euro 5
Military vehicles
•
Disabled persons
•
Emergency service vehicles
•
•
Operational vehicles used by
Local Authorities in Zone
NHS (Health) reimbursement for
patients and some staff
•
Residents of Zone: 90%
discount
•
Breakdown and recovery
vehicles
Exempt and discounted vehicles account for c.50% of traffic in Zone.
Customer Services (Capita)
Main contact centre Rotherham
•
Since June 2015, Capita have run
CC & LEZ schemes, including
contact centre and enforcement
processing
•
Dedicated contact centre based in
Rotherham handles all calls and
correspondence in relation to the
scheme
•
Open 8am to 8pm during
week and 9am to 1pm on
Saturday
•
Handles c. 5,000 calls a day
during working week.
•
Web hits c.19,000 a day
Processing centre - Coventry
Printing centre- London
Enforcement
•
Signs placed at 165 Zone entry and
exit points, and up to 17 miles away
on main roads into London
•
Comprehensive network of road
markings exist on Zone boundary and
within zone
•
Vehicle registration numbers are
observed by 650 cameras at 180
sites, covering entry/exit points and
within zone
•
Circa one million images captured
and processed every charging day cameras linked to Automatic Number
Plate recognition (ANPR) technology
•
If valid payment is not received for
vehicle for the date of travel, the
enforcement process commences….
Penalty Charge Checking and Issue
•
Images and key data for
every possible Penalty
Charge are manually
checked before issue
•
Number plate, and make
and model of vehicle
advised by DVLA, are
matched against image
•
Any ‘mismatch’ is
rejected for further
investigation or deletion
•
Daily Penalty Charge
Notice (PCN) of £130
issued to registered
keeper.
Complementary Transport Measures
Introduction of scheme accompanied by measures designed to
make public transport and other alternatives to car travel easier,
cheaper, faster and more reliable:
• Substantial increase in bus capacity into and around Zone
• Freeze in public transport fares
• Better information for public transport users
• Frequency improvements on train & Underground services
into Zone
• Traffic management measures on diversion routes and roads
around Zone.
Scheme Impacts
Average daily traffic entering charging zone*
* During charging hours (07.00-18.00)
Congestion levels in charging zone
2.3 min/km
-30%
1.6 min/km
Moving car observer surveys - during charging hours (07.00-18.00)
Congestion levels in charging zone
-8%
2.3 min/km
-30%
Moving car observer surveys - during charging hours (07.00-18.00)
2.1
min/km
Traffic volume entering Central London during
charging hours (February 2003 - March 2012)
100
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
0
Mar 12
10
Feb 03
index 100 = 5th week of 2003
90
Scheme Costs and Revenues
• Scheme cost some £150m to introduce in 2003, including
complementary measures and impacts monitoring
• Under previous scheme operator (IBM), Scheme costs some
£45m to operate each year
• Scheme has consistently made a surplus (net revenue), which
by law has to be spent on transport improvements in London
• Over its 10 years of operation, Scheme has generated over
£1bn in net revenues.
Use of Scheme Revenues
• By way of an example, in 2013/14, Scheme generated net
revenues of £194.1m, the income from the scheme was spent
on the following:
- Bus Network Improvements
£93m
Contributions to major enhancements of London’s bus garages, stations, stops
and shelters; to bus priority and real-time travel information
- Roads & Bridges
£10m
Contributions to programmes to improve quality of street conditions, including
reconstructing / resurfacing streets and footways, and strengthening structures
- Road Safety
£1m
Contributions to measures to reduce road casualties
- Walking & Cycling
£3m
Contributions to programmes for improvements for pedestrians and cyclists
– Borough Plans
£8m
TfL works in partnership with the London boroughs providing funding for a
range of transport projects
TOTAL - £ 115 m
-
Other Impacts
• Economy
– Broadly neutral impact overall on business
• Environment
– Congestion Charging directly responsible for reductions of
traffic emissions inside Zone equating to 8% of NOx, 7% of
PM10 and 16% of CO2
• Road safety
– Helped reduce the number of traffic accidents in London by
40% since 2003 (Source: Royal Economic Society’s “Traffic Accident and the London
Congestion Charge”, 2015 report).
• Net revenues
– In 2013/14 Congestion Charging raised £194.2 million to be
spent on other transport initiatives within London.
Reviewing the scheme
Reviewing and improving the scheme
Over 10 years of its operation, number of key changes to Scheme:
•
2004/5 – Addition of new discount categories and fleet scheme
•
Jul 2005 – Daily charge increased from £5 to £8
•
2006 – Ability to ‘pay next day’ introduced
•
Feb 2007 - Western Extension of Scheme introduced
•
May 2008 – Mayor Johnson elected
•
Dec 2010 – Western Extension removed
•
Jan 2011 – CC Auto Pay introduced / charge increased to £10
•
July 2013 – Ultra Low Emission Discount (ULED) replaced Greener Vehicle
Discount, PCN charge increased and retail payment channel removed
•
June 2014 – Daily charge increased from £10 to £11.50
Changes in 2015
Changes being introduced in late 2015
– Enabling discount applications and renewals to be made online
– Providing the option to pay CC Auto Pay accounts by direct debit
– Changing the NHS Reimbursement Scheme to allow refunds for CC Auto
Pay payments
– Providing the option for customers to amend the date of a pre-paid charge
on the day of travel
– Minor changes to the Scheme Order
Key Lessons Learned
Lessons from Congestion Charging
• Political commitment is key
• Effective research and clear policy objectives
• Extensive public consultation and stakeholder engagement
• Strong project management
• Need for effective contract management
• Good public transport alternatives
• Effective traffic management
• Strong public information campaign
• Need to listen to customers and be prepared to make changes /
improvements
Heather Watkinson
Stakeholder & Partnerships Manager – Road
User Charging
Email: [email protected]