As the congestion charge zone in London expands westwards, affecting a greater number of fresh produce deliveries, lobby groups are bemoaning the extra costs and demanding action on fee repayments.
The Forum of Private Business is calling on London mayor Ken Livingstone to reimburse road users for an extra administration fee for name transfer on congestion fines. The legislation has been updated as part of a department for transport simplification plan, but the matter of fees already paid, is outstanding.
The fees particularly affect leased vehicles, such as those used by New Covent Garden Market catering supply companies. “This affects any company that hires or leases a vehicle,” explained a spokesman for the FPB. “Parking fines go straight to the person who leased the vehicle, but with the congestion charge the process of passing on the fine of £50 costs a further £25. If a company has to hire a vehicle while one of its fleet registered under the TfL fleet agreement is off the road, it will be fined if it enters the zone without paying the charge and then an admin fee charged on top. It is totally unfair.”
At New Covent Garden Market at least one catering supply firm has had to employ an extra member of staff purely to cope with the administration of the congestion charge to the firm’s fleet of vehicles.
And the extension of the charging zone to Kensington & Chelsea on February 19 is likely to further affect the market’s traders.
“Although the vast majority of catering suppliers that deliver to Chelsea already deliver into Piccadilly and won’t have any additional cost, there are those who turn left out of the market and go up through Fulham who will now have to pay the charge,” said tenants’ association president Gary Marshall.
Keeping Vauxhall Bridge Road exempt from the charge may also cause more congestion around the market when the extension is introduced next month, warned a Covent Garden Market Authority spokeswoman.
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