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Article: Ken Livingstone's gamble; Congestion charging.(Congestion charging in London and elsewhere)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- February 15, 2003
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Congestion charging is politically dangerous, but experience elsewhere in the world shows that it can be made to work
THIS century, mankind may well travel to Mars, but he will find it harder and harder to get across town. Since 1980, the number of vehicles in the world has doubled; in the next two decades, it is set to double again.
The costs are mounting. Few cities have reached the nadir of Bangkok (average peak-hour speed two miles, or 3.2 kilometres, per hour) where a booming business has sprung up selling empty plastic bottles to male drivers. But a 1999 study by the Texas Transportation Institute estimated that the annual cost of congestion in 68 ...