ALL GREEN LIGHTS FOR RED KEN:

London road success could go global (Peter Almond, 2/21/2004, UPI)

All but the most skeptical admit that London's "Congestion Charge" experiment has significantly cut traffic, increased road speeds, doubled bus ridership and raised additional revenue -- all in the last year.

Now, socialist-minded Mayor Ken Livingstone, who campaigned for election on his pledge to introduce the charge four years ago, is so set for re-election, he has asked the government to consider adding the charge to cities all over the country.

"The scheme has made a real difference in getting London moving again," said Livingstone. "Despite the dire predictions before the launch of the scheme, congestion charging has proved a success. That is why nearly three quarters of Londoners now support the scheme. It works."

That's not quite the view of some business people in London's financial district. They blame the $9 daily charge for a significant loss of retail business. They say motorists are scared away.

"Shops, restaurants and business in the zone have been damaged, many to the point of closure," said Livingstone's Conservative Party mayoral opponent Steve Norris.

Norris cites a survey by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors claiming that 90 percent of retailers have been adversely affected. However, an independent poll published by London First, a business organization, shows that 58 percent of firms surveyed see the impact on the economy as being positive or neutral. Only 26 percent say it is negative.

These schemes will be even more successful in America where they play right into our dislike of general taxation by placing the burden directly on those causing the problem.

Posted by Orrin Judd at February 22, 2004 9:13 PM