30 minutes off road fee time

Ken Livingstone is ready to cut 30 minutes off the operating time of his congestion charge to save London's restaurants, cinemas and theatres from economic disaster.

Amid complaints that the 11 September atrocity has devastated business in central London, he is to amend options for consultation so the charge lasts from 7am to 6.30pm instead of 7pm.

Many businesses which rely on evening trade say operating it until 7pm would stop many vital customers driving into the heart of the capital.

Mr Livingstone is particularly worried about theatres following a drop in the number of US tourists. Some say business is down 30 per cent.

The new option will be subject to full consultation and means the Mayor will not announce his decision about whether road fees will go ahead until February, instead of next month.

The earliest date for the start of the scheme is anticipated to be February 2003. Any slippage presents political problems for Mr Livingstone, who has to seek re-election in 2004. He said: "The proposed new end time of 6.30pm may assist the leisure and tourism industries, which have experienced problems. I am, however, mindful that there are counter-arguments in favour of the original 7pm end time and that this issue warrants further consideration."

The loss of his main instrument for controlling traffic between 6.30pm and 7pm - when congestion is still a problem - would be a blow. But Mr Livingstone cannot ignore the effect the terrorist attacks have had on London's economy.

The announcement is his second big shift on the issue. His original idea to charge trade vehicles £15 a day was dropped after complaints from business.

His decision on which workers will be exempt from the charge will be made public this week.