London’s mayor is considering charging drivers £3.50 to enter London every day in an attempt to plug the capital’s finance gap.
The Daily Telegraph reports that Sadiq Khan has asked Transport for London officials to investigate the feasibility of introducing the “Greater London Boundary Charge”.
It means the price for entering Central London could rise to £31 a day when the congestion charge and Ultra-Low Emission Zone fee are included.
Khan is quoted by the Telegraph as saying, “If ministers aren’t prepared to play fair, then we will need to consider other options to address this unfairness, such as asking people who live outside London and make journeys into Greater London by car to pay a modest charge, which would be reinvested in London’s transport network.”
The plan would involve drivers with vehicles registered outside London having to pay once they enter an outer borough such as Croydon, Enfield, Hillingdon and Havering.
Critics point out that it’s hugely unfair on people who may live just outside London, like Watford, but work inside one of the boundaries, like Harrow, having to pay.
It also would mean that those who are affected by the policy would be unable to do anything about it, because they don’t get a vote for mayor.
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