French experts brand C-charge a 'failure'

Academics have condemned the congestion charge as an "economic failure" that costs London £50million a year.

They compared it to a "mini Concorde" - a technical masterpiece too expensive to operate.

And they said they were baffled at the "extravagant" cost of payment collection and the issuing of fines by private firm Capita.

In the first independent academic critique of the scheme, two economists from the University of Paris used Transport for London's own figures to refute claims the charge is good for the capital. Remy Prud'homme and Juan Pablo Bocarejo found costs outweighed benefits by £50.7million a year. They said the £5 charge was two-andahalf times greater than the benefit to drivers.

According to TfL, 70,000 cars a day no longer enter the central London zone - cutting congestion by 30 per cent. In the last financial year the charge made £89million profit to reinvest in public transport. However the economists did not include this surplus in their sums, saying it was a "tax" that prevented investment in other causes.

Professor Prud'homme said: "If the money had remained in the pockets of the users, it would have been spent usefully. The extraordinary thing is the cost. We have been highly surprised by the extravagant collection costs."

The report states: " The congestion charge, which is a great technical and political success, seems to be an economic failure. It could be defined as a mini Concorde."

The pair calculated the value of total benefits, including less congestion, faster bus services and a better environment, at £72.2 million a year. Start-up costs, spread over several years, and annual running costs were put at £122.9 million, leading to a net annual cost of £50.7 million.

A TfL spokesman said the study failed to place enough value on travel time saved. He said: "The charge has raised net benefits in excess of £50million per year."