Congestion Charge now AT WEEKENDS and until 22:00 every day

[Bradlington]

Hey all,

The Congestion Charge hours and days have changed in the last few weeks!!

It?s now EVERY day. No more free weekends.

And it is now until 22:00. No more free theatre/cinema/dinner trips.

No communication of the changes. And no warning letter when you unknowingly enter at times that used to be free. Just straight to a fine.

Cheers

Brad

[lameduck]

Brad

Got to get the money back for lockdown somewhere kid

[seenbeen]

TfL was ?1 billion in deficit before the lockdown. He used ?600m for a fares freeze which did not benefit Londoners- only tourists

[apbremer]

And TFL have agreed to squander a huge sum on the daft DV "improvements", having just gone cap in hand to the government for yet another huge bail out.

Further, I read that TFL have 550 (!!) employees "earning" over ?100,000 pa. If correct, complete madness. West End restaurants and businesses are collapsing wholesale and this punitive congestion charge, particularly at weekends will turn central London into a ghost city.

Forget Rhodes.Khan must fall. Hopeless.

[gabys1st]

seenbeen Wrote:

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> TfL was ?1 billion in deficit before the lockdown.

> He used ?600m for a fares freeze which did not

> benefit Londoners- only tourists

What i was thinking! The fit and mobile cd always walk, surely many peeps live within 30 mins walk of a restaurant? Maybe not- happy to stand corrected.

I am a shielded wheelchair user and had been told to avoid f2f b4 lockdown, social distancing etc. No longer took minicabs or uber to places had previously done so but walked if about an hr away. - well husband did as he accompanied my in chair. Helped keep him fit as well. It was very interesting we discovered streets we had no idea existed as we tried out different routes.

[rupert james]

apbremer Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> And TFL have agreed to squander a huge sum on the

> daft DV "improvements", having just gone cap in

> hand to the government for yet another huge bail

> out.

> Further, I read that TFL have 550 (!!) employees

> "earning" over ?100,000 pa. If correct, complete

> madness. West End restaurants and businesses are

> collapsing wholesale and this punitive congestion

> charge, particularly at weekends will turn central

> London into a ghost city.

> Forget Rhodes.Khan must fall. Hopeless.

If all these employees/local authority /civil servants are working from home will they be losing their London Waiting top up to help the cause.

Surely that would help the TFL deficit

[Abe_froeman]

Walking home from a West end show won't be an exciting adventure very much though.

They really ought to rename this tax now that it is no longer there to reduce congestion and give it a more honest label.

[seenbeen]

gabys1st Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> seenbeen Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > TfL was ?1 billion in deficit before the

> lockdown.

> > He used ?600m for a fares freeze which did not

> > benefit Londoners- only tourists

>

>

> What i was thinking! The fit and mobile cd always

> walk, surely many peeps live within 30 mins walk

> of a restaurant? Maybe not- happy to stand

> corrected.

>

> I am a shielded wheelchair user and had been told

> to avoid f2f b4 lockdown, social distancing etc.

> No longer took minicabs or uber to places had

> previously done so but walked if about an hr away.

> - well husband did as he accompanied my in chair.

> Helped keep him fit as well. It was very

> interesting we discovered streets we had no idea

> existed as we tried out different routes.

Also school children up to age 19 get free passes- they bus hop even if it's only 2 stops. Also it doesn't exactly encourage going to local schools or fitness either,

[Penguin68]

surely many peeps live within 30 mins walk of a restaurant? A restaurant, surely, but not necessarily one of the many in the West End. And an hours walk for a meal may be healthy, but if you're over 60 it ain't going to be much fun, particularly as the weather worsens into autumn and winter. With so many now working from home and thus not starting their evening in the City or West End coming in specially is going to be less attractive. This makes it even more so.

[Cyclemonkey]

This was imposed on TfL by the government as a condition of the bailout.

Also you don't HAVE to go in to the CC zone if you don't want to.

[kford]

Correct, this was imposed by the govt. Attack them

[Spartacus]

It was imposed by the government only in response to poor financial management by the mayor. Bit like any rescue deal , terms and conditions apply.

[singalto]

Brad, this change was on the news! Why would you drive to the West End anyway?

[Abe_froeman]

Sadiq Khan said the other day it was his decision to do this.

[NewWave]

Its Killing the west end stores and restaurants and everyone who works in them is afraid for their jobs.

not a great idea when people have just started to reopen and try to claw back some of their lost takings.

No spenders in the west end after 7pm now just gangs of teenagers wandering about

[fishbiscuits]

Got caught out by this a couple of weeks ago, luckily received a "warning" in the post instead of a fine. But agree that this hasn't been communicated at all well.

[Jules-and-Boo]

The mayor pledged a fared freeze and this has been overturned by the government.

The government removed the funding it previously have to TFL. That means our transport system is funded solely by fares and other revenue (advertising, rent, property) and is the only self-funded transport system.

The mayor has been fighting the government to reintroduce the transport grant.

Despite this, TFL were on track to run a surplus AND deliver key projects.

It now looks like the mayor is screwing London but it's actually the government.

[singalto]

Sadiq Khan says it?s staying for at least 18 months..

[seenbeen]

Spartacus Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> It was imposed by the government only in response

> to poor financial management by the mayor. Bit

> like any rescue deal , terms and conditions apply.

Yes exactly- and if the mayor wants some kind of autonomy he needs to sort it without the Government aid- i.e. the tax-payers' money. I'm sure the tax payers of Manchester, Liverpool etc would love to know they are subsidising London!

[pk]

seenbeen Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Spartacus Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> I'm sure the tax payers of Manchester, Liverpool etc

> would love to know they are subsidising London!

You think that?s how it works!?

Liverpool etc propping up London!

[Jules-and-Boo]

That's not how it works. People travelling in London pay fares which partly fund TFL

[seenbeen]

Jules-and-Boo Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> That's not how it works. People travelling in

> London pay fares which partly fund TFL

TfL used to get government money

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-34923879

[Spartacus]

Jules-and-Boo Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

>

> Despite this, TFL were on track to run a surplus

> AND deliver key projects.

>

> It now looks like the mayor is screwing London but

> it's actually the government.

How is a ?13 billion debt "on track to run a surplus" ? For context this article was the 12th May, only a month and a half into the reduction in passenger numbers so when the mayor got his bailout it was possibly higher.

BBC News - Coronavirus: Transport for London expects to lose ?4bn

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-52630386

It's obvious that the Mayor's policies in this area have failed but remember to TFL and the Mayor of London every bailout is important.

[pk]

Spartacus Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> How is a ?13 billion debt "on track to run a

> surplus" ? For context this article was the 12th

> May, only a month and a half into the reduction in

> passenger numbers so when the mayor got his

> bailout it was possibly higher.

>

> BBC News - Coronavirus: Transport for London

> expects to lose ?4bn

> https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-52630

> 386

>

> It's obvious that the Mayor's policies in this

> area have failed but remember to TFL and the Mayor

> of London every bailout is important.

You think this Mayor?s created all that debt? Really?

I?d be keen to see your evidence that he inherited debt free balanced books, particularly once you take into account that eg the previous Mayor received government support that his successor doesn?t benefit from and Boris clearly had nothing like a coronavirus hit income to deal with

[Spartacus]

The government support has been reduced agreed, but it was approximately the same amount per year as the fares freeze cost, and as a result the Mayor put more funding into tfl. If he hadn't frozen fares then the phased reduction in government grant wouldn't have made a difference.

Prior to covid 19 hitting travel tfl were already in debt due to fares freeze, falling passenger numbers and other factors that the mayor should have addressed. I would like to see your evidence that the current mayor didn't get a balanced set of books. I'm not aware that he did or didn't but as you have raised the question can you provide evidence?