Traffic 'rat runs' are springing up around congestion charging zone, according to study
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Your support makes all the difference.Traffic "rat runs" are developing around the congestion charging zone in London, analysts said yesterday.
Long predicted as one of the main disadvantages of the charge, local "hot spots" have been detected in the third week of the scheme's operation, according to Trafficmaster, a travel information company.
The findings came as The Independent learnt that Tony Blair's family car had incurred several penalty notices.
Trafficmaster said other motorists were increasingly using roads adjacent to the charging area. Georgina Osborn, of Trafficmaster, said: "There is no doubt that traffic volume is increasing on major routes into London. This traffic will be heading somewhere and it is using rat runs and back roads."
One of the hot spots found by Trafficmaster was the A10 in north-east London. While there was a 14 per cent reduction on normal journey times in the first week of the charge as drivers avoided central London, in the second week there was a 6 per cent decrease and last week, ending yesterday, there was a 14 per cent increase.
Another hot spot identified was the Blackwall Tunnel, which runs under the Thames to the east of the zone. Heading north, journey times leapt from 15 per cent below normal in the first week to 1 per cent above normal last week.
On the A316 in west London, journey times have gone from 3 per cent quicker than normal, to 13 per cent longer than normal last week, although Ms Osborn said the figures had been affected by an accident.
Transport for London said yesterday that its officials could see no evidence for rat running. There were 17 to 18 per cent fewer vehicles inside the zone last week, compared with more than 20 per cent fewer in the first few days of the scheme.
Mr Blair was issued with the fines, each worth up to £80, after he failed to register as a Westminster resident. As someone who lives within the charging zone, he was entitled to a 90 per cent discount and bought a weekly ticket worth £2.50 on that basis. But his staff did not fill in the form claiming the discount and the Blair family's Ford Galaxy, which ferries the children around the city, was caught on camera as a non-registered vehicle.
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