Good news for London, probably

It looks like Boris wants to increase the congestion charge and get rid of the western extension.

You would think that, as a cyclist, I'd want the congestion charge everywhere. And high. And that's partly true. But it has to be a sensible congestion charge.

When the central zone was introduced it was a huge success, and it remains a big success, and it raises a decent amount of cash. It's a very good thing.

But the western extension, from Park Lane out to Earl's Court, was utterly ludicrous for a number of reasons. It is actually counter-productive. Mostly, this is because the western extension is a very largely residential area, in a way that the central zone isn't. That means that there are lots of people obliged to pay it. This wouldn't be so bad if they didn't get a massive discount. But they only pay at 20% of the rate the rest of us pay.

That means, ironically, that all the obscenely wealthy people in Kensington and Chelsea, who drive their hideous BMW X5s and Porsche Cayennes and so on, get to drive in London for less than everyone else. What's worse, though, is that lots of people have automatically paid the charge just because they're taking young Jack to his private prep school 200 yards down the road. And now they've paid it, and are out in their monstrous 4x4, why not just drive into work? Why would you put up with the horrors of the District Line if you're already comfortably listening to John Humpreys in your preheated faux-leather seats?

Having a congestion charge in a highly residential zone just encourages the people who live there to drive more.

There is a better solution than abolishing it - that is, to have it as an entirely separate zone: Pay £5 to drive in the western zone, but it gives you no right to drive in the central zone. I doubt Boris would do anything quite so likely to anger the motoring lobby, though.

I'm pleased, too, that the price is going up. Central London's congestion is returning to previous levels, so it makes sense to charge more. The worst that can happen is that London stays as the mess it is, but the GLA's coffers get fuller, paid not by London's taxpayers but instead by the people who make it a misery. Or, better, some people stay away and London becomes fractionally more civilised.