Possible Boost for London Drivers

Monday, March 10th, 2008

Things could be looking up for those driving into central London, as the Mayoral candidate, Boris Johnson, has promised to put an end to the “commuter purgatory” which many travellers currently suffer.  The conservative MP has announced a number of methods which he intends to implement, should he be elected, in order to make driving into central London more appealing.

Johnson claims that since 2001, Ken Livingstone’s Transport for London system has increased the amount of time which traffic lights spend on red as well as putting in an additional 1,000 sets of lights, severely slowing down traffic in the capital.  Mr Johnson is strongly opposed to this and has proposed to make traffic lights stay green for longer, whilst cutting back the time lights allow for pedestrians to cross.  Despite Living Streets (formerly the Pedestrians Association) suggesting that the “green man” phase should be lengthened to help elderly people and parents with pushchairs to get across the road, Mr Johnson claims that “we will rephrase traffic lights so they operate to keep traffic moving smoothly…without in any way imperilling pedestrians.”

Traffic lights are not the only transport issue which Boris Johnson has spoken out against, he also has some strong views to voice regarding Livingstone’s latest congestion charge plans.  Should the conservative candidate become mayor, he intends to cancel Mr Livingstone’s proposal for a £25 daily congestion charge for the most fuel-efficient cars from October as he feels it will have minimal impact on CO2 emissions.  Instead, Johnson hopes to introduce a more flexible system, which will charge a lower fee for entering the zone outside peak times, as well as eradicating the high fines which many drivers are confronted with if they forget to pay on the day.  This new model is said to resemble the Swedish congestion charge where cost varies depending on the time of day and usage.  Commuters will pay a maximum of £5 a day and will be issued bills at the end of each month.  Furthermore, Johnson intends to abide by the result of a new consultation which showed that local residents were strongly opposed to the western extension of the congestion charge zone.

Such proposals might make it worth re-assessing your transport decisions as driving in to London could be the best option for you!  If you do travel into London by car be sure to check out the great parking deals we provide.  Just fill in an enquiry form on this website for a free quotation!!

Challenge to New Congestion Charge

Tuesday, February 26th, 2008

As of the 27^th of October many individuals driving into London will be facing some serious changes to the prices they pay for the congestion charge.  Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London, has proposed that cars be charged in accordance with the amount of carbon dioxide which they emit, meaning that larger vehicles, which may be perceived as more damaging to the environment, will pay an increased rate in order to compensate for the pollution they cause.

The new charging system demands that, though most drivers will still pay the usual £8 road toll, the highest polluting vehicles will be asked for a daily rate of £25 in order to enter the congestion charge zone.  In contrast to this, however, those cars with the lowest carbon dioxide emissions will get a 100% discount on the charge as a reward for being more environmentally sound.

Peter Hendy, London’s transport commissioner has asserted that the new charges are likely to bring in around £30million to £50million.  Furthermore, Transport for London has estimated that around 33, 000 vehicles which come into London every day will fall under the £25 charge and approximates that about two-thirds will no longer choose to enter into the charge zone once the new fee is implemented.

Environmentalist groups such as Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth are strongly on the side of the new congestion charge initiative, hoping that it will encourage people to think more about the long term effects of their transport decisions and buy greener vehicles.  Ken Livingstone has echoed such sentiments, commenting that “the CO2 emissions from the most high-powered 4×4s and sports cars can be up to four times as great as the least polluting cars.

However, not everyone has adopted this point of view as it seems that Mr Livingstone’s vilification of the ‘Chelsea tractor’ type vehicle may be ill founded.  Boris Johnson has spoken out against the charge, suggesting that “in effect, the mayor has just given the green light for richer people to buy smaller cars and enter the zone for free while families who struggle with one big car are left feeling the pinch.”  This has been backed by Autocar’s Dan Stevens who has noted that “some really surprising cars will be caught by the £25 charge”.  For instance, whilst a vehicle such as the Vauxhall Vectra (a hatchback/estate car) will be hit with the maximum fee, some 4×4s, such as the BMW X5 3.0d will only be charged the regular £8 toll.

Porsche is also looking to challenge the new charging system on the basis that they are “disproportionate” and will not help to decrease the emissions in central London.  Having written to the mayor expressing their displeasure, the car manufacturer’s next step will be to apply to the courts for an order to cancel the proposal.  Andy Goss, the Managing Director of Porsche GB has spoken out against the scheme, claiming that “a massive congestion charge increase is quite simply unjust.”

Car to Run on Air

Friday, February 22nd, 2008

The Indian conglomerate Tata, who last month unveiled the world’s cheapest car, has now released plans to market the most environmentally friendly car.  Running almost entirely on air, and releasing no pollutants into the atmosphere at low speeds, the vehicle, to be known as the OneCAT, may be on sale in India before the year is out.

The model will be a three-seat, fibreglass model weighing only 350kg and is estimated to be priced at about £2, 500.  Rather than the traditional method of filling up on petrol, refuelling the OneCAT’s tank will entail topping up on compressed air at a cost of as little as £1.  This should then power the car’s piston engine for somewhere between 125 and 185 miles.  At higher speeds, however, the car will burn small amounts of conventional fuel, to reach a top speed of 67 miles per hour.

Moteur Development International (MDI), a family owned, French company has spent the past ten years working on what has been dubbed the “air car”.  A spokesman for the group recently proposed that “the engine is efficient, cost-effective, scalable and capable of other applications, like power generation.”

With oil prices having increased to hit a record high, energy efficiency has become a key factor in modern car production, with a number of rival technologies competing to appeal to the market.  Up against electric vehicles, bio fuels, hybrid engines and hydrogen-based fuel cells, MDI hopes that its “zero emission” cars will improve the eco-car sales which are currently languishing in the thousands.

Help Finding Your Car

Monday, January 21st, 2008

Last year Chevrolet carried out a survey in the UK to discover what the demand might be for a device which enables motorists to find their car, once they have left in a large car park. The results showed that one in five drivers misplace their vehicles at least once a month, leading to those individuals spending an average of five hours and thirteen minutes a year looking for their car. Furthermore, one in four of these forgetful motorists have seriously contemplated reporting their vehicle stolen after searching for over an hour, before realising that they simply parked it elsewhere.

The device, which is currently being tested by Chevrolet, is known as K.I.T.T.Y (Key Innovation That Talks To You) and enables a lost car to actually call out to its owner. The gadget will resemble a tiny megaphone with a recorder attached and can be placed under the bonnet of the vehicle. Users will be provided with a small remote control which will work anywhere up to 600 feet of the apparatus. Upon pressing a button on the remote, the device will respond by emitting a pre-recorded announcement which may be personalised to whatever the owner desires.

Testing on this new technology, created by a partnership between Chevrolet and LOC8TOR, has been performed over the holiday period and the results are set to be evaluated this month to decide whether the device should be offered as an option on the company’s new vehicles. How much such an addition would cost is yet to be decided but, if the price is reasonable, K.I.T.T.Y looks set to makes drivers’ amnesia a thing of the past.

However, if you aren’t planning to buy a car which will shout at you until you find it, why not just make the task easier by parking in a well-lit, secure space. For a free quotation simply fill out an enquiry form on this website. You will be surprised to find out how cheap parking in London may be!

Charged by the Length

Wednesday, January 16th, 2008

Norwich City Council has become the first local authority to assign parking charges according to the length of the resident’s vehicle.  However, the scheme has come up against much criticism as many have claimed that such a proposal discriminates not only against large cars which still manage to have low emissions but also against families.  The plan will penalise drivers who own vehicles which are more than 4.45 (14 ½) metres in length, such as the Vauxhall Vectra.  The aim of the operation, which has been implemented by Norwich Highways Agency Committee (a joint initiative between the city council and Norfolk County Council), is intended as a way to “encourage more people to drive smaller cars”.  According the Brian Morrey, the committee’s vice-chairman, “it is far more environmentally friendly and would also generate more parking space on the roads”. 

Unfortunately, it seems that not everyone is sharing in Mr Morrey’s opinion as a number of motoring organisations have asserted that the measure is meaningless, as it is not an appropriate way of discriminating between eco-friendly cars and the more harmful gas-guzzlers.  The traffic enforcement company NCP has joined these challengers by strongly contending that the plan is without merit point out that a car such as the Toyota Prius would fall into the expensive parking classification, being quite a large car, though it has very low emission.  Large electric vehicles would be another example of a clear exception, being a big car which is by no means as dangerous or harmful to the environment as many of its smaller associates.

The parking tariff of cars longer than 4.45m will almost double, increasing from the current rate of £16 to £30.  Vehicles below 3.92m, such as the Vauxhall Corsa, will continue paying the present annual parking charge, whilst the fee for those residents owning transport between 3.92m and 4.45m will rise to £22.  An RAC spokesman has purported that this new system, dividing cars into three categories of length, will “discriminate against families with children” as they are more likely to drive longer vehicles such as estate cars.

Not only will the scheme be controversial and, to many, irritating, it will also be expensive.  At a cost of £36, 000 to implement the idea, with funding coming from the EU Civitas project, it is unclear as yet whether the changes will be worthwhile.  Other councils are likely to watch with interest in order to determine whether or not they should follow suit.  Richmond, in South-West London, became the first area to place a £300 levy on gas-guzzlers and 4×4s, with Hackney acting similarly by penalising residents who own cars with large engines.

Here at 247 Parking we don’t discriminate according to your choice of vehicle so if you would like to park in a secure, well-lit environment (without having to get your ruler out!) why not fill out an enquiry form for a free quotation.  You’ll be surprised to find out how cheap parking in Central London could be!