Motorists in London had high hopes when they elected Boris Johnson as their mayor. The former Conservative party leader is a well-known gearhead, and even moonlights as an automotive journalist. And those hopes may just yet be vindicated, as Mayor Johnson begins rolling back the Congestion Charges instituted by his reviled predecessor Noah Joseph
The advent of changes to London's congestion charge that makes the fees based on a vehicle's carbon dioxide emissions has prompted many automakers to tweak some of their models to get their emissions down. Any car that emits less than 120g/km of carbon dioxide is exempt from having to pay the charge. The latest brand to go after that threshold is BMW with their 318d. The existing version is rated at 123g/km, so BMW will make some changes to get into the charge free band. BMW engineers feel they
We don't want to take sides on London's Congestion Charge, but we are keenly interested in what the charge will mean for the environment and motorists. Ken Livingstone claims that the charge is intended to reduce congestion and CO2 emissions while Porsche claims that the charges are unnecessarily high and unfair. New evidence that Porsche has located, though, indicates that CO2 emissions will actually i
Manhattan's latest attempt at disguised taxation has ground to a halt in the most trivial fashion. Mayor Michael Bloomberg's proposed congestion charge for cars and trucks headed into the city below 60th street was summarily ignored by lawmakers. Rather than a contentious fight in the state assembly, the clock was simply run out and the bill died without being put to a vote. The failure of Bloomberg's plan means that New York City will also miss out on 350 million federally earmarked dollars for
By now, you're surely aware of the efforts of London Mayor Ken Livingstone to increase London's congestion charge. You're also likely know about the distaste that Porsche feels regarding these changes. Back in late February, Porsche polled Londoners themselves and fou
Lately, London Mayor Ken Livingstone has seen a great deal of press coverage regarding his efforts to increase the congestion charges in London, which caused Porsche to vehemently disagree with said charges. This is not Livingstone's only legislative issue these days,
Perhaps my response to a statement released last week by Autocar is misinformed because there is some misinterpretation going on between my American English reading of British English words. The key is whether or not "minority group" carries with it the same connotations in the UK as it does in America. I read this line in Autocar editor Chas Hallett's statement - "Why do we need a scheme which is so expensive to administer that it has to pick on a minori
London Mayor Ken Livingstone is again pushing to revise the current congestion charges that drivers going into central London have to pay. Currently anyone going into the congestion zone has to pay a fee of £8 per day. Under Livingstone's plan the flat rate would change to a sliding scale based on the vehicle's carbon dioxide emissions. Annual vehicle registration fees are already based on part on those emissions with each vehicle being placed into various tax bands.
First Portugal and Scandinavia, now it's the U.K.'s turn. Tourists, businessmen and collision survivors now have the option of renting green with the introduction of the Toyota Prius to Avis' UK fleets. In addition to being kinder to the environment, the Prius is also exempt from the U.K.'s congestion charge, making it more wallet-friendly.
New York's mayor, Mike Bloomberg, is ready to steal a page from his London counterpart's handbook and announce plans to hit drivers who bring their cars into Manhattan below 86th street with an $8 congestion charge in a bid to ease gridlock in the city's crowded midtown business district. The fee would include the existing bridge and tunnel tolls drivers currently have to pay. Some people are understandably upset, and opposition groups are said to be forming in the outer boroughs.
During a speech he's scheduled to give tomorrow that will outline his remaining time in office, New York's mayor, Mike Bloomberg, will announce plans to charge cars entering Manhattan below 86th street an $8 congestion fee, similar to the controversial charge enacted by London's mayor, Ken Livingstone.
The RAC Foundation (a UK organization dedicated to "protecting the interest of the motorist") doesn't think congestion charges, like those in effect in downtown London, will help reduce driving, especially shopping trips, in the rest of the country.
Toyota can't be the only one who benefits from the expansion of London's Congestion Charge zone next week, right? Honda is saying it expects there to be 6,500 more hybrid cars in London by 2008 (low-emission hybrids don't have to pay the £8 daily driving charge). In preparation, Honda will make available 3,000 petrol-electric Civic Hybrids in the UK during 2007.
Some of you may recall a couple of years ago when London instituted its congestion charge to help ease traffic and parking concerns in the city. Many people balked, but the £8 a day ($16) fee has indeed reduced congestion and raised revenue. Not everybody is pleased about paying the fee, but a few have made it a point to really raise non-payment to an art form. Case in point, America's Ambassador to the Court of St. James, Robert Holmes Tuttle. Tuttle and his embassy staff have amassed &po
