TfL: Thousands give views on future London road user charging after ULEZ - including 'pay per mile'

A "key principle" to be considered in any future road charging scheme in London should involve distance travelled, according to a new report.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has ruled out a "pay per mile" scheme, having expressed interest in the past. But, as the mayoral election approaches, the Conservatives say they fear it may still be on the agenda, and last week called for the London Assembly to rule it out in central London.

More than 150 people are currently working on Project Detroit, an in-house platform at Transport for London (TfL) for managing roads charging through schemes such as the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) or central London's Congestion Charge. The system is intended to be flexible enough to handle new schemes of road user charging, including pay per mile.

The cross-party London Assembly Transport Committee yesterday published a report, Future Road User Charging in London, following an investigation, which began in 2022.

Opinions were submitted by more than 3,300 Londoners and organisations and identified significant concerns about the prospect of any "smarter" scheme, such as around privacy and the provision of alternative transport to driving.

The report notes: "Some organisations, and a majority of responses from individuals, did not support a future road user charging scheme."

The committee has made 11 recommendations, including that any scheme should be "as simple as possible" and that anyone introducing it should be clear "from the outset" about its objectives.

Recommendation 2 states: "A key principle any future mayor or government who wished to introduce a new, smart road user charging scheme needs to consider is that any pricing strategy should be more equitable in the way people are charged for the length and number of journeys they make by car compared with other modes of transport and take into account economic and social concerns (and see further recommendations on equalities considerations and mitigations needed)."

The report recommends that all potential revenue generated by a new scheme must be assigned to a programme of early improvements to public transport in London, with a significant proportion delivered ahead of introduction.

Siân Berry AM (Green Party), who was chair of the committee during the investigation, said: “This report does not seek to find cross-party consensus on whether or not a smarter road user charging scheme should be introduced in London, or what any scheme might look like.

“Instead, our committee aimed to explore and present the issues that would need to be considered as part of the development of any future scheme alongside recommendations to any future mayor or government, that was to consider introducing a new scheme. The huge reaction we received to our call for evidence - over 3,300 responses received - highlights the interest Londoners have in this topic, and the committee is grateful for all of the feedback given."

She said new road charging schemes could be introduced by a mayor of London or by the government.

“While the current mayor has made clear that there are no plans in the immediate term for new road user charging schemes in London, it is vital that the assembly outlines how the key findings of our investigation will help shape any future work on this issue within the City Hall," she said.

“There is much that any future mayor or government can learn from our recommendations if they were to consider one day exploring this idea.”

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The committee concluded that if any authority wants to develop a new road user charging scheme, they should at a very early stage ensure there is a working group that "includes representatives from all relevant stakeholders that will demographically and geographically represent Londoners".

It said improvements to public transport in London could be funded by a loan against future income from the scheme.