Is the congestion charge a good thing or a bad thing?

Question

For my science course work i have to find out information from reliable websites about if the congestion charge is good or bad? does anyone know where i can find some good info for this topic?

Answer 1

It's a ridiculous idea!
Town and city centres are busier at certain times of the day because that is the time people need to be there for work. So charging premium rates to go into the centre at certain times is hitting the average working person who can't change the hours he works.
Charging shoppers to go into the town centre just destroys the businesses in the town. I live in one of the largest towns in the uk and have already seen a massive impact just from parking charges - retail parks are springing up all over the place and people are going out of town to do there shopping where there is free parking and no traffic wardens lurking on every corner. For the first time in my lifetime we have empty and boarded-up shops in the town centre.
Of course we could always do what the politicians suggest and use public transport!! I think we should nominate a day when everyone leaves the car at home and we all go to work by public transport - let the government see the utter chaos this causes! Bus and rail services are simply not reliable enough for everyone to want to use them.
People use their cars because it is convenient to do so.
And, if everyone used public transport and left their cars at home, we would not need to buy anywhere near as much fuel - how would the government make up for the massive loss of fuel duty? They'd just increase other taxes to make up the shortfall, so we would all be standing a the bus stop in the pouring rain every morning, but not actually saving any time or money! Great! I'm sure we all look forward to it!

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Answer 2

Too much stick and not enough carrot.

If the public transport system was practical and affordable then it would be a viable option.

Unfortunately,even with the best PT system it still would not provide a solution for many who start too early,need luggage space, live too far or in remote areas.

The Congestion charge is simply another stealth tax on those who are working for a living whilst those who don't would rarley be affected by it and therefore often support it.

The size of the population itself is the principal cause of congested roads.
Treat the cause and not the symptoms.

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Answer 3

Bad. It has lined peoples pockets and put couriers out of business rather than reduced the traffic, in my opinion.

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Answer 4

There isn't a website that specifically marks pros and cons over a Congestion Charge (you can look on government website but they will say it's been a good idea as will probably the Environmental Agency... the Taxpayers Alliance will probably say it's been bad as will the Motorist Lobby).

Good:
- Reduce traffic
- Safer commute by own means (motorbike, bicycle)
- Improved air quality
- Reduced noise pollution
Bad:
- A form of "unnecessary" taxation
- More crowded public transport
- Hits local businesses with reduced custom

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Answer 5

I think it is a good thing. Try Transport for London (TFL) and the GLC.

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Answer 6

Its a very good thing. Has reduced congestion in central London;
has reduced pollution. Most importantly it has raised much needed cash for investment in Publc Transport; there are many new bus routes and a huge number of additional passengers; new trains are being built for many Underground lines and signal systems being updated to allow trains to run more frequently. I would like to see a congestion charge introduced in all major cities in the U.K.

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Answer 7

As with any kind of tax, the people who have to pay it think it's a bad thing and the people who don't think it's a good thing.

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Answer 8

its good because people wont enter into central london unnecessarily

congestion charge was introduced to reduce the traffic jam and pollution in central london

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