“London’s Open”. How many times did we hear the city's two-bob chancer of a mayor Sadiq Khan parrot that trite slogan in the wake of the Brexit referendum?
He even lit up the London Eye in the colours of the EU flag to proclaim that despite the Leave vote, the city welcomes all-comers and was still a great place to do business. No one had ever suggested otherwise.
Until now. Khan has just decided to do to London's economy what his namesake Genghis did to Asia and China in the early 13th century.
He's laying it to waste. On the day the Government urged as many people as possible to return to work this week, Khan declared war on mobility.
Unveiling an insane policy which could do more long-term financial damage than coronavirus, he imposed a crippling 30 per cent increase in the congestion charge to £15 a day.
With restaurants and theatres on their knees and facing an uncertain future, even when lockdown is lifted, he also extended the hours from 7am-6pm to 10pm and, for the first time, to Saturday and Sunday.
Drive into town for a pre-theatre supper and a show?
Have you got money to burn?
Bang goes the West End. Fancy a little light shopping in Oxford Street at the weekend, or a leisurely Sunday brunch in Covent Garden?
Forget it, unless you are prepared to take your life in your hands on the Underground.
With Tube, bus and train capacity still well below normal and people being advised to avoid public transport wherever possible, it's crazy punishing them for using their cars.
Especially when the safest way to travel right now is in your own vehicle.
The congestion charge comes on top of an ultra-low emissions zone levy (ULEZ) of £12.50.
So if you own an older car, which doesn't meet the latest emissions standards, it will cost £27.50 a day to drive to work.
TAXI LEAKS EXTRA BIT :
TAXI LEAKS EXTRA BIT :
Maida Vale-based London Assembly member Murad Qureshi criticises government’s TfL bailout saying
It’s A Kick In The Teeth’:
The government’s bailout of TfL will “hit the capital’s poorest the hardest”, says London Assembly member Murad Qureshi.
The Maida Vale-based politician’s comments follow Whitehall agreeing a £1.6 billion deal last week with TfL which is facing a 90 per cent fall in income from Covid-19 lockdown.
The Londonwide Labour representative said fare rises and changes to the Freedom Pass were a “gratuitous kick in the teeth” as part of a “punitive and “damaging” deal.
Mr Qureshi said: “This will hit some of the poorest in our capital the hardest.
“It is also nonsensical that Londoners have been effectively singled out and punished in this way, after doing the right thing and staying at home and away from public transport to contain the virus.
“The Government needs to own up to the fact that where they could have helped TfL back on track to recovery, they have inflicted unnecessary pain and uncertainty.
“They must go back to the drawing board and reconsider this decision”.
Under the terms of the bailout, congestion charge will rise by 30%, free travel for children will be temporarily halted and over-60s will have to pay to travel during peak times. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said the bailout “wasn’t the deal he wanted”.
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