Congestion charge fails to cut Greater London traffic level

The toll - which rises today by 60 per cent to £8 - has reduced jams inside the charging area but has made "no difference" to the total number of car trips in greater London, according to Trafficlink, a supplier of information to the AA, BBC and more than 200 commercial radio stations.

The charge has also created an entirely new "mini rush hour" just after 6.30pm when the levy ends, the organisation says.

Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London, has consistently claimed that the charge has cut congestion and pollution in London.

One of the main reasons for the toll was to reduce car use generally in the capital, not just to cut congestion inside the zone.

Trafficlink believes that many drivers bound for the centre are parking outside the charging area.

Jams have been made worse by motorists driving round the zone trying to avoid the charge, says Rob Clayton, the organisation's London specialist.

Euston Road, on the northern boundary of the area, used to be busy at some times of the day, but now it is "absolutely rammed" most of the time, Mr Clayton said. Other new areas of congestion are the roads through Bermondsey towards London Bridge on the eastern end of the zone and just south of the Elephant and Castle at the southern end. The A2 from Kent is just as congested as it was before the charge was introduced in February 2003. Edgware Road in the west copes at most times of the day but becomes log-jammed as soon as an incident of any kind happens, he said.

The proposed westward extension of the zone would result in more traffic jams around the enlarged area and much longer journeys for those trying to get around it, Mr Clayton said.

The Green Party group at the London Assembly, which supports the toll, insisted the levy was a success. Zero growth in car use was an achievement given that that the number of cars registered in London had grown by 15 per cent in the last seven years.

A spokesman for Transport for London, which is responsible for the charge, pointed to a considerable reduction in "through traffic", but noted there had been no "disincentive" to drivers using their vehicles for trips outside the zone.

The amount of traffic in the charge area had been cut by 15 per cent and the shift from cars to public transport across greater London had been 4 per cent. The RAC published a report last year which showed an 11 per cent drop in car dependency across the capital, the spokesman said.

Today's £3 increase in the toll is expected to result in an additional £35m-£45m in revenue a year. The spokesman said that more than £170m has been raised since its introduction which was being spent on the capital's transport system.