Blow for Mayor's C-charge extension

Plans to extend congestion charging into west London were criticised today by an advocate of the toll.

Professor David Begg - until recently the Government's top transport adviser - said the scheme should remain as it is, adding: "Westward would not be my choice."

His comments were supported by motoring and business groups.

Professor Begg, a supporter of Ken Livingstone's original ?5 congestion charge, said it was not the right time to extend the scheme to parts of Kensington and Chelsea as the Mayor proposed.

Instead he advised waiting until at least 2015 when it would be possible-to launch a satellite-based scheme across London inside the M25.

Professor Begg said under this scheme motorists would be charged 16p a mile to drive on the busiest roads at peak times. Offpeak, some roads would be free.

The system would replace the current scheme and raise ?3billion a year. Paul Watters, of the AA Motoring Trust, backed Professor Begg, saying: "The current payment and penalty processing system is just not fit for the purpose and it could become even worse if the scheme is enlarged.

"The extension will not make any money for 10 years and it could drag the rest of congestion charging down with it."

He added that the proposed "free routes" through the extended charging zone would confuse

motorists.

Kevin Delaney, of the RAC Foundation, said: "Increasing the zone will actually increase congestion because more residents will be entitled to the 90 per cent discount. Everywhere outside the congestion zone is residential anyway and there is no point introducing a congestion zone in a residential area."

A spokesman for the Forum of Private Businesses said: "The congestion zone brings nothing but pain, especially for small businesses.

"People don't want to deliver there, contractors don't want to work there. It's crippling. I can't think of anywhere where it should be extended. Rather it should be scrapped."

Jim Pritchard, of Westminster City Council, said the extension would be "like putting up the Berlin Wall" across the borough.

"People in the north will effectively be paying the congestion charges to go to their local Sainsbury's," he said.

"Ideally we would like no congestion charge at all and we would be for ending charging at 1pm. That way commuters will still be forced to leave their cars at home, but those wanting to pop into the more commercial areas would be able to do so and support businesses and then get home before the rush hour."

Jo Debank, of the London Transport Users Committee, said it favoured the extension in principle. "We would like two zones so that people in west London still have to pay a charge to enter the centre," she said.

TfL will decide on the extension in the autumn.