Is London being killed off? Why is TFL so confused? #TFL #EV #thebigredbutton

So you live in London and you own an older vehicle, on which you have probably paid substantial sums in VAT, road tax, petrol duty, fines, parking charges etc etc to various local councils and central government.

From 25 October 2021 your car doesn’t meet the new ULEZ standard and the zone is being expanded to cover an area bounded by the North & South Circular roads.

To solve the problem you decide to buy a hugely overpriced electric vehicle. You give the VAT man a lot of money but you save some money, via road tax exemption, occasionally lower parking fees and you don’t pay the Mayor of London’s congestion tax which is “temporarily” operating to effectively, what amounts to 24 hours a day, with the notable exception of Christmas Day (Yippee!)

All good so far, doing your bit for the environment, making the air cleaner for all the people who are now working from home outside the city anyway? Never mind, you get the benefit of being able to drive into Central London, to go to the beleaguered shops on Oxford Street or visit your favourite pub or restaurant (when we get past the Covid crisis).

Fortunately, now that you have an electric car, you won’t be emitting any toxic gases whilst you wait to drive down the increasingly narrowed arteries of London’s streets, negotiating your way past half empty buses, waiting at red traffic lights whilst some of your fellow road users, just carry on regardless.

Anyway sarcasm and unfairness aside, this is all a good thing, the planet is saved, people are healthier, you get the benefit of avoiding public transport where you have to stand under someone’s armpit or wait an unbearably long time for a bus. You do your bit to support the economy, paying yet more VAT to eat in a restaurant or buy something from a shop. Your actions are supporting the economy, meaning businesses can employ staff, reduce unemployment and you also get to help the government out with their huge borrowing debt.

So when you get home after driving your EV, you get to go to sleep and feel happy about the world.

Then one day you see the notice on the TFL website, stating that ALL vehicles will be subject to Congestion Charge, irrespective of your vehicle being electric? This will apply from 25 December 2025.

So what’s the strategy here, fewer cars that aren’t polluting anyway? Local councils losing out on parking fees? Another nail in the coffin for businesses? On the plus side the name Congestion Charge actually becomes an accurate description of what the charge represents, as opposed to a car emission tax, which is what is now.

It’s an odd strategy in my opinion and made even more so by the current TFL Electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure delivery plan.

https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/about-tfl/the-mayors-transport-strategy

It’s pretty clear that cars don’t really have a place in this strategy, whether electric or otherwise, so why go to the bother of trying to encourage everyone to buy electric vehicles? Why bother to invest tax payers cash into the strategy of expanding the charging network?

https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/electric-vehicles-and-rapid-charging

The transport strategies of TFL are confused and send out mixed messages. If you want to ban cars from London, have the guts to do it now. My opinion is that the consequences will be dire, a continuing confused strategy to destroy London but then again, I’m not in charge.

London is open for business? Every journey matters? Don’t think so.

#commonsense