Haste makes waste?

At last count there were 3.03 million vehicles registered in Greater London, of which 2.6 million were cars. These cars represent about 9.2% of the nation’s total count of 28.4 million cars. In 2008, private cars, clocked up an average of 8,130 miles each. That's almost more miles than our own car has done in the last five years. We're clearly not doing our bit!.

However, as more and more cars pour on to local roads, average vehicle speed in London has fallen below that of a horse-drawn carriage. In 1903 traffic in central London travelled at a speed of 12mph. By 2007 the average had fallen to 11mph. I’ve even seen statistics that claim London drivers spent around half their time in queues, incurring 2.3 minutes of delay for every kilometer they traveled.

Today Garry and I got a taste of this congestion driving to the supermarket. Traffic was backed up everywhere as we drove north forcing us to take an winding route on back road bordering Hampstead Heath. Things got even worse coming home. Traffic was backed up in the supermarket carpark, as the local access road was chocked in all directions. It took us 15 minutes to travel just 400 metres, a journey that should take less than two minutes from the Supermarket exit to the nearest A road. According to the Government this sort of congestion poses a very real long-term economic threat. If left unchecked, by 2025, it could cost an extra £22 billion a year in wasted time in England alone.


The City of London’s answer to this problem became a globally renowned case study in traffic management. In 2003, the city introduced an 8-square-mile congestion charging zone in the central city. From Monday to Friday, between 7am and 6pm, a daily charge of £8 is paid by every vehicle entering or travelling within the zone. Their presence is detected and monitored by 688 cameras at 203 sites scattered across the city.

The cameras can record number plates with a 90% accuracy rate using sophisticated number plate recognition technology. Every day they tracks and photographs the license plates of more than 250,000 cars. Travel in the zone without paying the charge and they’ll ensure you attract a fine of between £60 and £180.

The system’s success attracts considerable debate, even more so given its £130.1 million annual running cost. In 2003, six months after the congestion charge was first brought in, traffic speed rose from 8.5mph to 11mph, cutting journey times by 15%. However, more recent analysis suggests that this modest 1.5mph improvement has since disappeared. By 2008 traffic speeds were virtually back to their early 2003 levels. It’s no wonder 43% of people living in London do not own or have access to a car. Walking is probably faster.