London Congestion Charge: FAIL. According to the most recent reports, traffic in London is exactly as bad today as it was before the C-Charge was ever initiated. London motorists have made their opinion about the system clear in recently voting out ex-Mayor Ken Livingstone, a man who championed the charges and had plans to increase their dollar amount and expand their coverage. The new mayor, Boris "Fast Lane" Johnson, says, "I have always thought that the Congestion Charge is a blunt instrument." Blunt and ineffective, it would seem. While the number of cars within the city limits have gone down, other factors have crept up like an increase in bike and pedestrian traffic that keeps motorists crawling.
There is one thing that the London Congestion Charge was good at: making money. Last year alone, the C-Charges racked up some £268 million (a whopping $536 million) in charges. While it may be hard to see that income go away, the fact is that it still takes Londoners an average of 2.3 minutes per kilometer to drive through the city, so expect to see some major modifications to the system in the coming months.
Forgive us for not being more up on the landscape of local London politics, but when we informed you that anti-automobile incumbent Ken Livingstone had lost his bid for reelection as the Mayor of London we had no idea how lucky Londoners had gotten with his replacement. Boris Johnson is his name, and he is the Yin to Livingstone's car-hating Yang. Johnson is a true motorhead, and a quick Google search reveals a plethora of evidence supporting that description.
The man is actually a professional editor, journalist and automotive scribe, having penned car-related columns for a number of newspapers and even British GQ. He's written a number of books including one called Life in the Fast Lane: The Johnson Guide to Cars, which appears to be straight from the Jeremy Clarkson school of car comedy. You can read more about Johnson at his official website here, check out his video review of the Nissan Quashqai here, or read reviews of his book at Amazon.com here.
Oh, and Johnson did appear on Top Gear once to drive a reasonably priced car on the TG test track. His time? 1:56 seconds in a Suzuki Liana (this was before they switched to the Chevy Lacetti), good enough for ninth place at the time and ultimately 56th when the list was finally reset. Did your city's mayor appear on Top Gear? That's it, we're moving to Chelsea.
Ken Livingstone is the current mayor of London who has not endeared himself to the city's swarm of automobile owners while in office since 2000. His most controversial move as London's mayor was to institute a congestion charge for driving in certain parts of the city, and his latest idea of instituting a $50-per-day tax for gas-guzzlers within the city limits has drawn some serious ire from Porsche. It looks like Stuttgart can call off its lawyers, as good ol' Kenneth just lost his reelection bid to the Conservative party's Boris Johnson. The Conservatives handed the Labour party its lunch in most local elections today, but the loss of the mayoral seat in London must especially sting for Livingstone and his Labourers. Unfortunately, we don't know what kind of guy Johnson is like and whether or not he'll repeal the congestion charge or pursue the gas-guzzler tax, but at least car-crazy Londoners can rest easy tonight knowing that their mortal enemy has lost his seat of power.
When the city of London decided in November 2006 to tax gas-guzzling, emission-spewing vehicles (aka sports cars), we knew someone would put up a fight. It didn't take long before Porsche, the enthusiast-oriented German automaker, stepped into the ring. Round One started last month, after London's Mayor Ken Livingstone decreed that a $50 daily tax shall be levied against all environmentally unfriendly vehicles that drive through his city beginning this October. After Porsche formally requested the mayor reconsider his plan or else it would call for a judicial review of the proposal, the Mayor kicked off Round 2 by accusing Porsche of imposing unnecessary pollution on Londoners and then compared the brand's sports cars to garbage littered on the street.
After consulting with its ringside trainer, Porsche has chosen to involve a legal referee in this match and make a formal application for judicial review to challenge the matter. Once the papers are filed, Mayor Livingstone's corner will have 21 days to acknowledge the claim. Don't expect the Mayor's office to throw in the towel -- most expect this bout to go the distance.
Ken Livingstone, the mayor of London, has made his populous British city a very unfriendly place for motorists, and his latest plant to increase the city's congestion charge to £25 ($48.72 USD) for all gas-guzzling, carbon-spewing vehicles within the city limits has drawn the ire of Porsche. In a letter delivered to the mayor, the Stuttgart-based automaker gave Livingstone 14 days to reconsider the charge, which it considers too expensive and ineffective at reducing pollution, or else it would take the matter to the courts.
Livingstone apparently checked his mail that day, and has responded with some choice words. Accusing Porsche of imposing unnecessary pollution on Londoners, he basically compares the brand's sports cars to garbage littered on the street.
The reason Porsche is so interested in stopping Livingston's increased congestion charges is that only only two models in its current lineup, the entry-level Boxster and Caymen, are exempt from the current charge of £8 to enter a "congestion zone". Increasing the charge to £25 would no doubt tank Porsche sales in the affluent neighborhoods of London. Unfortunately, Livingstone's congestion charges have been challenged in court before and he's won each time.
Porsche UK, however, has set up a website for anyone who wishes to support its desire for a judicial review of Livingstone's plan. The automaker uses the website to lay out its argument, as well as solicit signatures for an online petition.
It looks like each side has managed to land a decent punch this round, but we're betting this fight is far from over.
We report this unfortunate development in solidarity with our British comrades. As if it weren't hard enough living in London – already one of the most expensive cities in the world – Mayor Ken Livingstone has drastically increased the congestion charge for cars entering the city. The fine, originally instituted in 2003 at ₤5, will jump exponentially to ₤25 per day for every vehicle entering downtown London. The news follows last week's announcement that the charge for commercial vehicles increased to a whopping ₤200. City officials claim the ₤30-50 million it will raise from the added tax revenues each year will be invested into public transportation. Conservative MP (and noted car nut) Boris Johnson calls the charge a "stealth tax" on families requiring larger cars.
As before, low-emissions cars are exempt from paying the fee. Not to worry, though: for drivers who have yet to trade in their secure Range Rovers for an unsafe G-Wiz, the now even-further reviled "Red Ken" Livingstone has a plan: 6,000 rental bicycles to be made available around London by 2010, which should pose no problem for commuters in rain-swept England.
