London congestion charge

The latest report from Transport for London states that despite 70,000 fewer cars a day entering the central zone and 30,000 fewer in the Western Extension, congestion in both of these areas is every bit as bad as it was before the charge was introduced.
It had been suggested that Ken Livingstone's transport scheme was a deliberate policy to obstruct traffic. The report seems to show just that. It was claimed that by paying even more money to use the roads, drivers will benefit from lower congestion. However, on the face of it, an increase in traffic lights and reduction of available road space means that drivers are just paying through the nose to sit in the same jams as before.

The Association of British Drivers (ABD) has drawn up a set of proposals on the matter. These include a review of all bus lanes to ensure that they do not restrict overall road capacity, and the removal of at least 20 per cent of the traffic lights in central London by identifying those which do nothing but obstruct traffic flow.

Boris Johnson has made a start by reviewing the flow implications of all proposed schemes, and announcing the death of roadspace-eating bendy buses.