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A staggering 65p of every £1 raised
goes in running the scheme
Last year out of the £250m collected, only £90m was available for public
transport, about 2% of Transport for London's costs. The bulk of the
money raised goes to Capita who operate the scheme.
But £90m is still £90m even if it has cost charge payers £250m. Most of
the £90m is spent is subsidising London buses. (The £265m capital cost
of setting up congestion charging is money that could have been
spent on buses without imposing the charge at all!)
It is true that scrapping the charge would
mean that this £90m would no longer be available. How would this gap be
filled?
First, the figure needs to be put in the context of Transport for
London's £5bn budget. Given how bureaucracy has grown under the
current mayor there is no doubt that this £90m loss could be more than
offset by efficiency savings.
Second, revenues in
other areas would increase as business turnovers rose to pre congestion
charge levels. Council parking revenues would also rise as more shoppers
were attracted back into central London at off peak times.
Third, we believe that transforming public transport requires billions,
in this context £90m is a drop in the ocean. We must ensure that more of
the £30bn net a year that London and the South East contribute public
finances is spent on improving transport in London. A vote for us, is a
vote to put London first. Our plans do not necessarily mean that other
parts of the UK will lose out. It is time for central government to put
its house in order. The Taxpayers Alliance estimate that nearly £100bn
is wasted each year.
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