A while back London imposed fees to vehicals entering Central London to cut back on traffic congestion.
Now NYC is considering adopting similar measures, citing London.
So, how did that work out?
To be honest, I really like it. I was dead set against it to begin with, but it has made a huge difference.
I’ve been caught out a couple of times and been fined, but the reduction in journey times is quite remarkable. I used to do a regular trip into central London and it would take about an hour and fifteen minutes before the charge, now it takes barely 45 minutes.
The major source of congestion these days seems to be buses, in particular those ridiculous bendy-buses.
Has the around around the ‘pay zone’ turned into a parking problem?
I would say no. But I don’t live in an area directly adjacent to the zone, so take my opinion with a pinch of salt.
Parking in London has always been (in my lifetime, anyway) a nightmare, and I think the current parking problems are more a function of greedy borough councils and private parking enforcement.
The money from the congestion charge has been directed into public transport, and especially into improvements in bus services. It’s no coincidence that London’s the one place in the country with increasing usage of buses.
(And what is it with Londoners, constantly complaining about the bendy-buses which have been used in other cities for years without such whinging?)
You’ve obviously never been stuck in traffic for ages because the wheelchair lift on the bendy-bus has grounded on the curb and jammed.
I personally don’t see the improvement that they offer over the standard double decker.
Oh and bendy-buses can be bloody scary, especially as a pedestrian, as they can over-run corners.
Also, there’s still a lot of resentment over the loss of the routemasters and the concept of hop-on, hop-off (I think that a re-introduction of HOHO would further increase usage of the buses).
So that’s about London bus drivers being morons, isn’t it? 
They can load and unload passengers more quickly, at least that’s the argument I’ve heard.
See comment number 1
True about the resentment about the Routemasters, although my response tends to be ‘get the fuck over it’. On the other hand, the specific issue of the lack of hop-on hop-off, that does seem like a fair complaint. But isn’t one specific to bendy buses.
I’ve heard the new issue is that they are expanding the zone, and that people are complaining that it is too big now, and that it includes too many people. Including people is bad because residents get a 90% discount, and now the people in the expanded area can drive to the old area for much less, so congestion may go back up a bit.
I really don’t think this argument is a very strong one. Few people in the new area will have any need or desire to be driving around the old zone during weekdays. Most will be moving around by public transport just as before, and just as they did before any congestion charge existed. The problem always was cars from outside the centre entering that part of the city.
It might be true that there’s a slight increase in traffic in the old zone, but the overall effect should be to reduce any ‘donut’ effect of traffic skirting the perimeter of that comparitively small area. Especially with the retention of a free north-south route through the centre (link to map, the white route past Hyde Park)
(Edit: I saw one unintentionally-amusing comment, possibly on Fark, saying ‘but that will stop people from driving there!!!’.)
Bendy buses are great. There is room for around 180 people there as opposed to around 120 on double deckers. And it’s much easier and safer to get on and off as there are three doors and no stairs to negotiate.
When they started trialling bendies on my route it was much more pleasant to travel. There was actually space and often a seat! Of course, with CC and improved buses the bendies have filled up and at rushhour are often packed. Ideally TfL will use some of the CC cash to purchase more bendies and give us all breathing space once more.
On the Routemaster thing. Mostly it’s unthinking sentimentality stirred up by the press. Nobody laments the buses in use immediately before Routemasters were brought in. Really, it’s just something for Londoners to whinge about, we love to whinge. And it’s not like they are totally gone. Two heritage routes exist where every other bus is a Routemaster.
From a childish perspective, I enjoy travelling in the concertina-style ‘hinge’ section on bendy buses.
Me too. One foot on each half.
I used to take the Tube from Paddington to Victoria. It took about 15-25 minutes with one easy change (Bakerloo line - Victoria line), but was horribly claustrophobic and frequently unreliable. Then one day I tried the bendy bus, and found that it truly reflects the tiny distance involved - only 2.5 miles - and will not go back underground. It’s cheaper, more pleasant, has great views of Hyde Park, and averages about 20 minutes, which is about the same.
ETA: It also goes past my birthplace. For some reason Westminster Council is taking its time with the blue plaque, but I am sure they’ll pull the finger out soon.
It’s hard to beat top-deck front though.
Memories of when the DLR first opened 
And I give you the bendybendybus. Built by that crazy nation, Belgium.
My opinion of bendy buses has gone down a great deal since I started cycling in London. As well as the corner-cutting issue, a lot of the drivers seem to assume that once the front of their bus has passed a cyclist, they can safely pull back in. Not so. :eek:
Fortunately, even with the congestion charging, I’m still usually going faster than the buses.
That’s another example of bad driving, not of an inherent problem with the buses.