MPs: Poor to be hardest hit by congestion charges

Congestion charge in London could have a disproportionate effect on low income families and public service workers.

That's the verdict of an influential committee of MPs.

A report by the Commons transport select committee criticised the Government for failing to take a lead in endorsing urban charging schemes, the first of which will hit the capital on February 17.

It was a matter of "serious concern that the Government is not prepared to make a more positive and open contribution to the national debate on congestion charging", the report said.

The charge of £5 on drivers into central London between 7am and 6.30pm may reduce congestion in the heart of the capital but could lead to a build-up of traffic elsewhere, it concluded.

The MPs questioned why London Mayor Ken Livingstone was implementing the biggest congestion charging scheme in the UK without first carrying out a pilot study.

The report welcomed charging schemes which had the potential to significantly reduce congestion in urban areas and improve public transport.

But it warned that "schemes which merely displace traffic from a city centre to suburban or inter-urban road networks may cure urban congestion at the price of urban decline, and will lead to problems elsewhere on the road network".

Mr Livingstone has pledged to give congestion charging in London two months to establish whether it was a success. But the committee said this time period was not long enough.

The London scheme should not only work but be seen to work as an example to other cities considering charging drivers, the report said.

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