new york — New York's congestion pricing plan Because it was modeled after London's congestion charge, CBS New York Journalist Ari Bauman travels across the ocean to investigate the impact.
She explored how the allegations have affected British businesses and the London environment, and what it was like in New York.
How the Congestion Charge affected London businesses
Yahya Oz's central London restaurant is located in a busy part of the city and covers an area of Manhattan's Central Business District.
“It's becoming very difficult to do business in central London,” Oz said.
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Since London introduced congestion pricing in 2003, most cars have had to pay a fee once per day to enter the congestion zone, currently up to 15 pounds (about $18).
“A lot of people who drive through London are put off by it,” Oz said.
His struggle reverberates New York Governor Kathy Hawkle explains why she suspended New York's congestion pricing program in June.
Michael Kill, chief executive of the Night-Time Industry Association, which represents 10,000 UK businesses, said he thought there was “no doubt” that the congestion charge had hindered the hospitality industry's recovery from the pandemic.
“The pandemic is over but we're facing an operating cost crunch, our operating costs have increased by about 30 to 40 percent. We've been hit hard at a time when people don't have as much disposable income and I think people are becoming more choosy,” Kill said.
Simon Thomas, chairman of the Hippodrome Casino in central London's West End, said as fees rose year by year, so did the costs of running his business.
“You also have to pay for the delivery driver, the handyman that comes, all the laborers. They just add that cost onto your bill,” he said.
These costs are often passed on to customers.
“New York averted a crisis. This is just another tax,” Thomas said.
In the 20 years since the congestion charge was introduced, London has invested 2.6 billion pounds ($3 billion) in revenue from it to expand public transport, cycle lanes and footpaths.
“We've known for a long time that people who travel by public transport, or who walk or cycle, tend to stay in busy areas for longer,” said Alina Tuerk of Transport for London, which runs the congestion charge scheme. “Central London remains very congested and we're seeing a real increase in leisure travel, with many people coming in using all the transport modes available.”
Has London's congestion charge helped reduce air pollution?
Besides traffic congestion, another major argument in favor of congestion pricing is To reduce air pollution.
Inside a major air pollution monitor in central London, on the edge of the congestion zone, analyst Andy Grieve showed Baumann some of the tools that have been tracking London's air quality for 30 years.
“All of these devices are sucking in air from the outside and sucking it down and taking samples to figure out what's in the air pollutants and where it's coming from,” he said.
Data shows that levels of the toxic gas nitrogen dioxide in London's air have fallen by more than 65% over the past decade.
“The air in London actually feels cleaner than it was 10 or 15 years ago,” said Simon Birkett, director of the non-profit group Clean Air in London.
“Has the London congestion charge been effective in cleaning up the air here?” Baumann asked.
“I don't think it's right to think of congestion pricing as the main anti-air pollution measure,” Mr Burkett said.
In the years since the charge was first introduced, London has added larger congestion charge zones on top of its original ones to tackle air pollution, adding charges to particularly polluting vehicles.
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“What I really want for New York City is to reduce vehicle emissions, but also encourage walking, biking and using buses and public transportation,” Burkett said.
That's why New York could clean up its air even without congestion pricing, he says.
Ari Bauman
