February 18, 2003

Congestion Charge - Day 1

The first day of the Congestion Charge in London went well yesterday, by all accounts. The call center worked, the retail payment outlets worked, the web site worked, the SMS payment system worked, most of the payment machines worked, and most important of all the enforcement cameras worked too.

Many people, including the radio traffic reports noticed that roads were considerably quieter, although this may or may not be wholy or partly due to it being the School Half Term holiday in several areas of London this week.

Over 100,000 drivers paid the fee yesterday, about 45,000 drivers were exempt, but drivers of about 10,000 cars did not not paid the charge by the midnight deadline last night. Penalty notices and fines will be on the door mats of the registered keepers of those vehicles by the end of the week, according to a statement from the Mayor's Office.

It will probably take about a month or so for things to settle down fully before the scheme can be declared a complete success, but overall things are looking very good so far.

The decision to go-live with a "soft launch" during the School holidays was I think a very astute move by the Project Managers concerned.

Well done, guys!

Entry categories: General
Posted by Jorgen Thelin at February 18, 2003 08:00 PM - [PermaLink]