London is becoming a very expensive place for motorists. The Mail has compiled a grim list of existing and proposed charges to show drivers just how much it is going to cost to drive in the capital. Here’s an excerpt:
London motorists have long felt under fire. And that’s no surprise: driving around the capital under Mayor Sadiq Khan is an increasingly expensive and stressful endeavour.
The Congestion Charge, introduced in 2003, was joined by Ulez in 2019. And later this month the Mayor will extend the scheme across every London borough – prompting critics to dub him ‘Highwayman Khan’.
To add insult to injury, it recently emerged drivers will soon have to pay to use the Blackwall Tunnel – a major route linking Central London with the South East. This provoked fresh claims vehicle users are being used as a ‘cash cow’.
Below is the story of how a dizzying array of charges, tolls and fines risk making London a no-go area for motorists.
£12.50 a Day Ulez Charge
The expansion of Ulez at the end of the month has been Mr. Khan’s single most controversial transport policy – with even Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer blaming it for his party’s recent by-election loss in Uxbridge.
The scheme will cover all London boroughs from August 29th and force drivers of non-compliant vehicles to shell out £12.50 a day – on top of any other charges like the £15 Congestion Charge.
Some opponents have resorted to vandalism, with a video showing activists from a group calling itself the ‘Blade Runners’ sabotaging a Ulez camera with a tree lopper as diners watched on.
TfL has insisted that nine out of ten cars seen driving in outer London on an average day comply with the Ulez standards. But figures obtained by the RAC show more than 690,000 licensed cars in the whole of London are likely to be non-compliant.
A ‘stealth’ fleet of camera vans will be used to enforce the hated levy – with the obvious advantage that they are mobile and difficult to vandalise.
At least 200 of the permanent cameras have been attacked so far, with TfL no longer updating its numbers to avoid encouraging more attacks. …
‘£2 to £5’ for the Blackwall Tunnel
Drivers suffered another blow this week when it emerged they will soon have to pay a toll to use the Blackwall Tunnel – one of the busiest crossings over the Thames.
TfL confirmed it will be charging drivers who use the previously free route, which is used by thousands of motorists commuting into the capital from the South East.
The toll will vary by vehicle and has not yet been decided – although when the idea was mooted by TfL in 2012 the fee was estimated at £2 for cars, rising to £5 for trucks.
The toll for the Blackwall Tunnel will only be implemented once the Silvertown Tunnel, which will link Silvertown and Greenwich, opens in 2025.
TfL say the fee will cover the £2 billion cost of building and maintaining the new tunnel, with any surplus ‘reinvested’ into the wider transport network.
The Blackwall Tunnel is one of the few crossings in the area, with only the Dartford Crossing and Woolwich Ferry further east. It is currently used by 100,000 vehicles every day.
Robin Hopkins, 63, is director of delivery firm RMH Same Day Couriers and regularly travels to London from his home in the Midlands.
He told MailOnline the charge for the Blackwall Tunnel was only the latest example of Mr. Khan seeking to ‘grab cash’ from motorists.
“I’ve been in Central London since early today and have been through the Congestion Charge zone and Ulez,” he said.
“The Blackwall Tunnel will only be the start of it – I can see tolls being up on other bridges and crossings as well.
“As soon as I have extra costs or tolls I have to pass those onto my customers. It’s a trickle-down effect.
“Transport businesses have already been hammered by fuel costs, and a lot of them have had to pack it in after decades of service.
“Motorists are clearly being targeted for a cash grab by Sadiq Khan. We urgently need a new Mayor who befits the role.”
£3 Toll on a Reopened Hammersmith Bridge?
Hammersmith Bridge in South West London was shut to cars in 2019 after cracks appeared in the handsome Victorian structure. Ever since, the failure to repair and reopen it has become something of a national embarrassment.
Councillor Stephen Cowan, leader of Hammersmith & Fulham Council, has emphasised that any decision over the future of the bridge is ultimately down to Mr. Khan and the Government.
He has raised the prospect of a toll to fund the estimated £230 million repair bill. The council has estimated a charge of £3 could raise the amount needed.
A spokesperson for Mr. Khan suggested he would be prepared to back a toll if it was managed by the Department for Transport.
“Hammersmith & Fulham Council have been clear that the purpose of a potential charge on the bridge would be to raise revenue to repay the costs of repair works on the bridge, and not to deliver wider transport policy objectives,” they said.
“As such, the appropriate approach to introduce the toll is through a tolling order, which would be managed by the Department for Transport.
“The Mayor and TfL are committed to supporting the reopening of Hammersmith Bridge and will continue to work closely with the local council and the Government.”
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Hugh
1 year ago
And, in the interests of impartiality, Grant “Dick Turpin” Shapps.
Also, never forget that the Great Central route could have been reinstated at no public cost by private money, but both Labour and the “Consevative” party conspired for different political reasons to block this. And now neither party will properly condemn possibly over £100b of public money being squandered on HS2 (whose principle justification of increasing rail capacity could just as well have been served with the Great Central route), astonishingly not the biggest waste of public money in recent times. Truly our political class are world beaters at squandering tax payers’ money!
Some parts of England are still very pleasant, albeit I struggle to feel passionate about the place given so many of our fellow citizens bought into covid so heavily. But the same can be said of most of the rich world, which is all largely going the same way. There are a few US states that seem to have a stronger culture of personal freedom and responsibility, but that’s about it. I am too squeamish to live anywhere other than a rich world country. Perhaps that’s a mistake.
True, but the quality of the people themselves can counter act government will! It seems the British have lost the fight in them, too eager for a quiet life, ..governments will get their way without a whimper from the downtrodden population of Britain!
Not everywhere! The irish are always up for a fight if, and only if, their rubbed up the wrong way, usually by their own government! It’s happened while I’ve been here, the government abandoned water charges and gave people, including me, their money back! They where close to pitchforks in the street!
So, not all western countries are as mild as the British
The “oh well I suppose we’ll just have to put up with it” attitude is unique to the British, these days at least!
It appears that instead of the tax pot being worked out, and that’s what the civil services have to spend, they just spend what the hell they like and dream up new ways of fleecing the citizen for the surplus. It can only last so long before the model collapses.
True, but the islamists are also covered by the charging. I know he’s done the weasel thing and exempted journeys to places of worship, although how you prove or disprove that is mindboggling. There are an awful lot of Muslim owned businesses and they will suffer too. This is not a game where there can be a winner. There is a threshold where the market cannot take more and it will collapse.
With their 120% turnout rate and if the Jihadi Khan is losing I am sure a million or so more magic votes can be found using the xi Biden, Tower Hamlets, Peterborough templates.
He’s in the right city for it! How many unmentioned stabbings has there been in stab central this year?
EppingBlogger
1 year ago
I suspect what Khan is doing is part of a longer plan by the politicians. We will all suffer from it soon. They cannot raise enough money to pay for their fancies from income tax and VAT so everything else will be creamed.
These traffic creaming exercises are NOT revenue raising schemes primarily, they are control schemes. Motorists are to be priced off the roads and then confined within the 15 minute cities.
The poor will be taken off the roads first and then the ratchets will be applied with progressively higher charges seeping in. Stealing money from tax payers is simply a nice sideline which will help fund a few more mosques. These mosques will be Saddy Khant’s bonuses for converting the capital to Islam.
Yes. And don’t forget that the whole Glowbull Warming scam started because the Politicians wanted a “new tax” based on a gas that only Saint Greta could see. They weren’t and aren’t bothered that CO2 is entirely beneficial.
Just ensure “Scientist’s” funding is within their control and they will say anything the pollies want.
Yep, but getting very close to the end game, where public spending is greater than the government incomes and the propensity to borrow through bonds resulting in currency collapse, and default. Game over.
Only a small thing but then I am getting increasingly petty as I age; ‘the Blackwall Tunnel – one of the busiest crossings over the Thames’. Surely under the Thames.
To join in with the discussion please make a donation to The Daily Sceptic.
Profanity and abuse will be removed and may lead to a permanent ban.
And, in the interests of impartiality, Grant “Dick Turpin” Shapps.
Also, never forget that the Great Central route could have been reinstated at no public cost by private money, but both Labour and the “Consevative” party conspired for different political reasons to block this. And now neither party will properly condemn possibly over £100b of public money being squandered on HS2 (whose principle justification of increasing rail capacity could just as well have been served with the Great Central route), astonishingly not the biggest waste of public money in recent times. Truly our political class are world beaters at squandering tax payers’ money!
Leave London! It really isn’t such a great place anyway.
Yup, done that. No regrets. It has its good points, but hard work and expensive to live in.
I’ve left the UK! and just in time by the look of things!
Some parts of England are still very pleasant, albeit I struggle to feel passionate about the place given so many of our fellow citizens bought into covid so heavily. But the same can be said of most of the rich world, which is all largely going the same way. There are a few US states that seem to have a stronger culture of personal freedom and responsibility, but that’s about it. I am too squeamish to live anywhere other than a rich world country. Perhaps that’s a mistake.
But the creeping shadow of tyranny is coming to a lovely unaffected part of Britain near you, soon!
I’m sure it is, but my point is that this seems to be the case in most/all rich world countries.
True, but the quality of the people themselves can counter act government will! It seems the British have lost the fight in them, too eager for a quiet life, ..governments will get their way without a whimper from the downtrodden population of Britain!
Indeed this is true, but again seems largely true everywhere in the rich world.
Not everywhere! The irish are always up for a fight if, and only if, their rubbed up the wrong way, usually by their own government! It’s happened while I’ve been here, the government abandoned water charges and gave people, including me, their money back! They where close to pitchforks in the street!
So, not all western countries are as mild as the British
The “oh well I suppose we’ll just have to put up with it” attitude is unique to the British, these days at least!
Well any pushback is welcome, but there didn’t seem to have been much pushback against lockdowns, nor against the restrictions on freedom of speech.
I believe that he can still be voted out..?
It appears that instead of the tax pot being worked out, and that’s what the civil services have to spend, they just spend what the hell they like and dream up new ways of fleecing the citizen for the surplus. It can only last so long before the model collapses.
Overcoming the islamic block postal vote and its associated fraud isn’t going to be easy
Absolutely Bang On LM.
True, but the islamists are also covered by the charging. I know he’s done the weasel thing and exempted journeys to places of worship, although how you prove or disprove that is mindboggling. There are an awful lot of Muslim owned businesses and they will suffer too. This is not a game where there can be a winner. There is a threshold where the market cannot take more and it will collapse.
With their 120% turnout rate and if the Jihadi Khan is losing I am sure a million or so more magic votes can be found using the xi Biden, Tower Hamlets, Peterborough templates.
“It could be worse, he could be stabbed”
He’s in the right city for it! How many unmentioned stabbings has there been in stab central this year?
I suspect what Khan is doing is part of a longer plan by the politicians. We will all suffer from it soon. They cannot raise enough money to pay for their fancies from income tax and VAT so everything else will be creamed.
These traffic creaming exercises are NOT revenue raising schemes primarily, they are control schemes. Motorists are to be priced off the roads and then confined within the 15 minute cities.
The poor will be taken off the roads first and then the ratchets will be applied with progressively higher charges seeping in. Stealing money from tax payers is simply a nice sideline which will help fund a few more mosques. These mosques will be Saddy Khant’s bonuses for converting the capital to Islam.
It’s never about what they say it’s about.
Yes. And don’t forget that the whole Glowbull Warming scam started because the Politicians wanted a “new tax” based on a gas that only Saint Greta could see. They weren’t and aren’t bothered that CO2 is entirely beneficial.
Just ensure “Scientist’s” funding is within their control and they will say anything the pollies want.
“Every advantage has its tax” Ralph Waldo Emerson
Yep, but getting very close to the end game, where public spending is greater than the government incomes and the propensity to borrow through bonds resulting in currency collapse, and default. Game over.
There’s a massive recession coming early in 2024, you read it here first!
It’s an islamist, destroying the kuffar is central to its existence.
Agree wholeheartedly.
Only a small thing but then I am getting increasingly petty as I age; ‘the Blackwall Tunnel – one of the busiest crossings over the Thames’. Surely under the Thames.
Highwaymen come to a sticky end historically. But today we’re far too civilised to allow something like that! (“Midnight, and still no sign of Dick”)
And where is mentioned the mandatory vehicle road tax on top of all this?
F”#k London! It’s a lost cause! It’s ethnic majority and no more British than Ulan Bator! Leave on mass!