London’s Mayor, Ken Livingstone, comments about his congestion charge with the prospect of adoption by New York City. Hint: he thinks it’s a good thing.
…. New York’s decision has another implication. It is a final nail in the coffin of the claim by rightwing pressure groups and anti-environmentalists that policies being pursued in London are against the interests of its economy – for the one thing that cannot be claimed against New York is that it is an anti-business city!
In reality, of course, the evidence was already in. Retail sales in central London are far outperforming those in the rest of the country. The West End theatre trade is strong. Tourism is growing strongly. Congestion charging has achieved exactly what it was designed to do – not cut the number of journeys, but shift them from private cars to public transport. It has cut congestion, and cut environmental damage, with the economy continuing to boom.
Looks like Montreal might be first in Canada, spending the toll money on rapid transit expansion:
http://www.thestar.com/News/article/215336