Congestion Charge is 20 years old

The once-controversial Congestion Charge is twenty years old!

It was a world-leading scheme and has lead to similar schemes being set up around the world. It initially had a significant impact and reduced traffic in central London by about 30%. This has gradually increased over the years, but is probably only now getting back to the levels that were being experienced before the Congestion Charge was introduced.

The Congestion Charge scheme formed the basis for the newer ULEZ (Ultra Low Emissions Zone) which is due to be extended to the whole of London later this year. In central London, the ULEZ has enabled a significant improvement in air quality. In some ways, the ULEZ is instead of a Congestion Charge for outer London, as a car is more necessary in the outer suburbs. It could be argued that it is more effective to improve air quality by reducing everyone’s vehicle emissions, than to just try to reduce the number of vehicles on the road.

https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2023/february/congestion-charge-marks-20-years-of-keeping-london-moving-sustainably

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_congestion_charge