Sadiq Kahn has been warned he may have to reintroduce the congestion charge at night if traffic levels increase in central London.
About 10,000 Londoners responded to a consultation on the Mayor’s plans to reduce the charge’s operating hours, from 7am-10pmseven days a week to 7am-6pm on weekdays and midday-6pm at weekends.
Simon Munk, of London Cycling Campaign, said ending charging hours at 6pm presented a “real road danger risk” to the thousands of cyclists and pedestrians heading home at that time.
London TravelWatch, the capital’s official passenger watchdog, said if congestion increased and buses got stuck in traffic after 6pm then TfL should “commit to bringing forward proposals to lengthen the charging hours again”.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has proposed keeping the charge at £15 but reducing its hours and reinstating the 90 per cent residents’ discount.
A number of organisations responding to the consultation urged Mr Khan to pave the way for “smart” road user charging – where the levy varies by time of day and level of congestion – when the C-charge contracts end in 2026.
Sian Berry, the Green London Assembly member said she opposed reducing the operating hours from 10pm. She said: “The congestion charge must stay strong to be effective in preventing new traffic, and the Mayor must take steps to replace it with smart, fair, privacy friendly road charging asap”