It's a good idea.

Tom

They'll have to pay for parking, which I would imagine will get quite expensive if the demand increases. The opportunity cost of commuting alone will go up quite a bit, I would imagine.

Well if we look at history every time the "Good Intentioned" people in government enact another feel-good do-good law it fails. Just take a look at welfare or amnesty and see what that has done to this country. How about raising taxes? All that is is another tax. It wont work. It will fail. As a people we should not be forced to do something. I would rather live in freedom then a dictatorship. If people go to college get a degree and work hard to afford a big car so be it. It you work at a burger joint and can only afford a honda civic that is 20 years old why should you get a break driving into a city?

This is just plain stupid and I really cant believe how brainwashed people are becoming.

Are you being ironic? They'll be driving less and substituting public transport or walking. That reduces total emissions.

I lived in Kensington, London for 3 months and I could never once understand why anyone would even want to have a car in that city.... It is infinitely easier to just use public transport (tube, bus, water taxi, taxi car, bicycle, or just walk (it is a very walkable city!)... I traveled all over london and to and around Edinburgh, Scotland, Paris, France, and Germany without ever once traveling on non-public transport.... Yet here I drive on average about 18,500 miles per year in my Prius... go figure...

Edit: Oh, and the central congestion charging scheme began several years ago to limit vehicles in the central city.. i believe it was and 8 pound a day charge (about $14.00)... but to add the environmental element to the congestion charge zone is a great move if you ask me...

what do poor people do?

Public transportation, which is what rich people should do too. Unlike many cities in the U.S., London has very good public transportation.

Tom

But they're still going to have to pay for parking, so they're not really avoiding anything by driving to the edge. And if they're not going to have ready access to their vehicle (because it's parked miles away), they might as well just take transportation all the way into the city from where ever they are. Driving a long distance to then commute a non trivial distance by other means doesn't seem to make much sense.

The thinking behind the extra charge for SUVs is that there is no earthly reason to drive an SUV in downtown London. If you do insist on driving, you have an incentive to drive a smaller, more efficient vehicle. It's better for fuel consumption, emissions, and space.

Tom

The real problem is that, at first, the city will reap a windfall of money from the TAX. That is until people adjust their habits, then the real problem, the city has gourged itself on the increased revenue and when it dries up they'll say they need another tax increase to compensate for the loss. The same thing has happend in LA and San Diego when they tried water conservation. Everyone conserved so much the water authority had to ask for an INCREASE in the rate to make ends meet! So where's the real incentive.

Since your legislator's election war chest was filled (in many cases) by big oil, you can be SURE this will never happen.

this is how it should be

i'd take it a step further; i'd charge registration and vehicle taxes based upon how much a vehicle:

A: pollutes (Nox, Co, other toxic waste)
B: it takes energy to propel a vehicle
C: vehicle weight (each 100 pounds costing the owner exponentially more)
D: technology that vehicle uses (diesel, gasoline, natural gas, hybrid, electric, hydrogen, compressed air)
E: I'd slap "ecology destroyer" tax on all bigger cars that are polluters and I make mandatory that those cars have stickers "I am destroying the planet and I do not care" . that should create a small backlash against polluters ... and me thinks that would be a very good thing.


that way that dude that is driving his big hummer will pay through his ass while driving down the road and taking dirty looks from other drivers and maybe even dodging the bullets here and there


I can just see it coming as latest news:

"three drivers were found dead last night in L.A. area.
police is still searching if the events are related as one unusual thing was that all 3 drivers drove hummers.
we wonder, will Cadlilac Escalade and Ford Explorer drivers be next?"

that out not only to bring SUV resale value down but also to turn a big SUV from an asset to a liability.

hey, I can dream, can't I?

Congestion pricing for Manhattan, New York City, just died this afternoon:

Congestion Pricing Plan Is Dead, Assembly Speaker Says - City Room - Metro - New York Times Blog

My guess is that the proponents of congestion pricing will try again next year.

BTW, I believe the NYC proposal, unlike the London levy, did not have a waiver for the Prius or other high MPG or low emission cars.