C-charge has not cut jams, admits TfL chief

Congestion in central London is back at levels last seen before the C-charge came into effect.

It decreased by 30 per cent after the toll was introduced in February 2003 but has now returned to how it was.

Transport for London said the freed road space created by the 21 per cent drop in traffic had been taken up by other road users. It is the first time TfL has publicly admitted to such a sharp rise in congestion in central London.

Traffic is defined by the number of vehicles on the road, whereas congestion arises from how fast those vehicles are able to travel.

Michèle Dix, TfL's managing director of planning, told delegates at a transport conference in London that the rise in congestion was also caused by more holes in the road created by utility companies. She revealed public opposition to road tolls had made TfL think twice about extending the congestion charge zone to the capital's outer boroughs, according to a report in the New Civil Engineer journal.

A petition calling for national roadpricing plans to be axed attracted 1.8 million signatories. "It made government turn off charging, which has made it difficult for us," Ms Dix told the conference. "If road-user charging was to be extended, we would have to make it more acceptable. We would have to improve public transport."

Her admission confirms claims made by experts - including the AA, London First, the Centre for Economics and Business Research and the Institute of Advanced Motorists - that congestion in central London has risen.

It also supports an Evening Standard survey conducted in February and Department for Transport figures released last year revealing that morning rush-hour traffic speeds had fallen to 9.3mph, below the 9.9 mph recorded before the charge was introduced.

Paul Watters of the AA said: "It had become increasingly clear that benefits originally delivered by the charge were being eroded. Last year, TfL's own monitoring report said the initial 30 per cent improvement in congestion had slipped to just eight per cent - now it seems even that gain may have gone.

The trouble is, by closing off side streets and short cuts and re-phasing traffic lights for pedestrians - all for laudable reasons - TfL has stifled traffic.

"Add to that pavement build-outs, reengineered junctions, and you can see why congestion is rising."

Gordon Taylor of West London Residents' Association accused TfL management of "complete failure".

A TfL spokesman said: "Traffic levels remain 21 per cent and congestion eight per cent below pre-charging levels."