Letter to editors on Boundary Charge

Dear Editor,

There have been some recent media reports suggesting that motorists living outside our city could soon be charged £3.50 each time they drive into London.

We need to do some myth-busting here. For the time being, there are no concrete plans for this to happen. This is just one of several ideas that TfL is exploring to plug the gaps in its finances left by plummeting passenger numbers as a direct result of the pandemic.

The preferred option, which the Mayor is lobbying the Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps for, is for London to keep hold of the £500m it generates through Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) each year.

This is all currently spent on maintaining roads outside of the capital. In fact, this week, new Government figures have shown that London’s contribution this year will pay for the entire national budget allocated to fixing potholes in other areas of England.

On the London Assembly, all political groups have backed VED retention as a way forward and it will help us to avoid the need for a boundary charge.

An even better solution would be for the Government to give TfL the long-term and sustainable emergency funding package it needs to mitigate the impact of the pandemic- just like it did with the private rail companies.

Yours,

Andrew Dismore AM

London Assembly Member for Barnet and Camden

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