C-charge in the suburbs

The congestion charge is set for a dramatic expansion throughout London.

The Mayor's transport chief Bob Kiley today unveils a controversial proposal to extend the scheme from central areas to hotspots in the suburbs ranging from Bromley to Brent Cross.

It would also see drivers on notorious congestion hotspots such as the North and South Circulars paying premium rates at peak hours.

Setting out a detailed timetable for the scheme, transport commissioner Mr Kiley said it would use a new "tag and beacon" scheme for payment which has roadside beacons detecting electronic tags in the windscreens of passing cars.

Mr Kiley, the Mayor's most senior transport expert, said the current eight square mile zone tackles only a fraction of the capital's congestion problems.

He admitted the plan, which has the full backing of Ken Livingstone, would be fiercely resisted by borough councils. He said: "I am not saying the boroughs are going to be jumping up and down shouting 'Hallelujah, salvation is at hand'."

He hopes to introduce the new system within four years in some areas and roll it out across the capital 12 months after that. A second trial of the technology gets under way next month after the success of a south London pilot. Mr Kiley said: " London could be the test-bed for the rest of the country.

"I want a surgical approach, aiming at the pinch points. The tag and beacon system would give drivers real choices. They could switch to an improved bus service or drive another route."

He told The Times: "The problem that we are facing is so overwhelming and daunting that I believe we should just go for it and learn from it as we go along." Transport for London is midway through consultation on extending the congestion charge zone into west London by 2007.

But Mr Kiley's comments reveal for the first time how the concept of road charging right across the capital would operate, though specific roads have yet to be identified. Drivers would pay between £5 and £50 to install an electronic "tag" receiver in their windscreen.

This would trigger as they passed roadside "beacons", calculating how much they should pay for using specific roads depending on the location and time of day. The roll-out of road pricing to the suburbs would be opposed by many boroughs, particularly Conservative-controlled authorities such as Barnet, Enfield and Richmond.