Proposals to levy a congestion charge of 25 for so-called gas-guzzlers in London runs the danger of sweeping up family cars and people carriers that allow larger numbers of passengers to travel in one vehicle. This would defeat the object of the proposal, says The AA Motoring Trust.
Although understanding the reasons for wanting to incentivise drivers to use cleaner cars in London, the AA Trust urges the Mayor not to make the same mistake as the Government when it introduced a Band G for car tax in March. Setting the threshold at more than 225 g/km for carbon dioxide emissions hit cars as diverse as the Renault Espace, Ford Mondeo, and even the VW Beetle. A CO2-rated system also runs foul of the fact that vehicles built before 2001 are not included in the emissions bands, and these are often many times worse for emissions than many new gas-guzzlers.
Introducing a CO2-rated system will dramatically raise the cost of administering the congestion charge scheme as a flat-rate system is considerably simpler. For a scheme that relies heavily on the penalty fines to pay its way, Transport for London will have to make sure it gets its sums and administration right this time.
A focus on so-called gas-guzzlers smacks of jumping on a bandwagon of prejudice. The hardest hit are often drivers who are trying simply to go about their lives in the most efficient and cost-effective way according to their cirumstances, says Paul Watters, head of roads and transport policy for The AA Motoring Trust.
The war on 4x4s in London has reached new heights and is in danger of going over the top by introducing punitive daily charges for many other vehicles that are nothing like the vehicles being targeted. It has to be realised that they already pay a recently introduced top rate road tax, and probably pay more fuel duty and VAT as they use more fuel.
