As of October this year the new congestion prices will come in to play. All vehicles emitting more than 225 grams of CO2 per kilometre (g/k), as well as those registered before March 2001, which have engines larger than 3,000cc, will be forced to pay £25 to enter central London between 7am and 6pm Monday to Friday, this included drivers of 4x4's. 30,000 cars drive every day into London, including high-powered sports and some saloons, joining four-wheel drives in the top bracket of charging.
Most cars will continue to pay the current £8 fee, but cars with the lowest carbon dioxide emissions will be able to drive across the capital for free.
The CO2 charge will encourage people to switch to cleaner vehicles or public transport and ensure that those who choose to carry on driving the most polluting vehicles help pay for the environmental damage they cause.
Former Major Ken Livingstone said he hoped the changes would make an impact across the world and encourage other cities to follow suit. These new costs will generate between £30 million to £50 million a year. They say most of this money will be spent on new cycling and walking initiatives.
I understand that £25 is a bit steep, but I do think it is good using the money on cycling and walking initiatives. Maybe something like this needs to be done to force change on us. The only wonder is, how much is 'most' of the money?
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