The Freight Transport Association (FTA) is marking the anniversary of the London Congestion Charge (February 17) by conducting a goods vehicles survey.
The FTA argues that the scheme should not apply to delivery and service vehicles that are essential to the UK economy. These vehicles are paying £5 a day, or for larger operators £5.50 a day, if they use a special fleet scheme. The FTA believes that there is no evidence that the charge has been responsible for significantly reducing the number of goods vehicles entering the charging zone.
The FTA is surveying its members and asking a host of key questions. These include:
Should commercial vehicles be exempt from the congestion charge?
Do your lorry journeys in the congestion charging zone now take less time?
Have you passed the cost of the charge on to customers?
Have you been issued with congestion charging fines?
The FTA has secured a number of changes to the scheme, including persuading Transport for London (TfL) that the charge for goods vehicles should be the same as for cars and not £15 as was first proposed. Since the scheme began the FTA through its liaison with TfL, has been at the forefront of providing advice and solving problems for operators.
