By Paul Homewood
London needs to charge motorists by the mile to hit climate change targets, according to Mayor Sadiq Khan.
He wants road pricing to be implemented to encourage people who drive petrol or diesel cars in the capital to switch to public transport, walking, cycling or electric vehicles “where necessary”.
The Labour mayor said he is “not willing to put off action”.
Research commissioned by Mr Khan found that a 27% reduction in London’s car traffic is required by 2030 to meet net-zero ambitions.
London faces severe impacts of climate change, with an increase in extremes such as the flash floods last summer which closed hospitals, hit Tube stations and flooded homes and businesses, as well as deadly heatwaves, a report by City Hall warned.
The city must play its part in tackling the global crisis, the document stated.
Road user charging would be a “simple and fair scheme” that could replace existing fees such as the Congestion Charge and Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez), according to the report.
But making people pay based on how far they drive has often been viewed as politically toxic.
Consideration of such a scheme has not been government policy since the then-Labour administration abandoned proposals in 2007 after an online petition attracted 1.8 million signatures.
The City Hall document noted that the technology to charge drivers per mile is “still years away from being ready”, so Mr Khan is considering several policies which “could be ready within the next few years”.
One approach is for the Ulez to be extended beyond the North and South Circular Roads to cover the whole of London.
Existing charge levels and emissions standards could be maintained, or a “small” fee could be charged for “all but the cleanest vehicles”.
Mr Khan is also considering charging drivers of vehicles registered outside London for entering the capital.
So petrol car drivers are not only expected to pay Fuel Duty, while at the same time funding obscene subsidies to EV drivers. Now they will also have to pay for every mile they drive as well.
How long will it be before this is national Labour policy?
via NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT
JANUARY 18, 2022
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