The number plate camera system used for the London congestion charge is going to be scrapped in favour of a new tag system. These plans have been put forward by the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone as part of his transport manifesto for the mayoral election. Which states: ‘A new, hassle-free system for paying the congestion charge, so that drivers can choose to have payments automatically debited when they enter the charging zone, avoiding fines for simply forgetting to pay the charge.’
It is believed that Transport for London have already agreed with computer giant IBM for a new tag and beacon system, which uses a pre-pay card system which is placed inside the car on the windscreen. As the car passes the beacons the charge is automatically deducted. This is similar to what is being used in many other countries for the same purpose.
At the moment the cost of running the congestion charge system has barely broken even, with the costs in running the charge taking around £151 million, virtually all of the income from the charge. The only saving grace is the fact that the fines resulting from the cameras that take a picture of the cars number plates has made sure that the system makes a profit.
Source [Autocar]
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