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Here is a letter sent to Andrew Burns, who grandly styles himself 'Executive Member for Transport & Public Realm (and Councillor for Moat Ward)'. It has also been copied to a number of Opposition Councillors and MSPs. The author is well known to Mr Burns and Andrew Holmes, his Director of City Development , as (retired) Inspector, in charge of Traffic Management with Lothian and Borders Police.
Read the letter here (Word Document, 32KB)


1. "Yes" side claims:-
  a) Congestion will be reduced.
  b) There will be a big profit to spend on public transport.
  c) There will be less pollution.
  d) Businesses won't be affected.

2. On the congestion claim, the "Yes" side say that there has been a 30% reduction in London congestion. Not many Londoners believe that traffic is moving 30% faster! And does anyone really think that there won't be more traffic in the Edinburgh "doughnut"? (a)

3. The hopes that there will be big profits is a delusion. London has a £5 daily charge and whopping penalties for late payment. Yet the scheme costs so much to administer (£142 million in the last financial year) that Ken Livingstone said "Don't do it for the money" and is now going to increase the charge to £8 a day!
The people of Edinburgh might as well just shred the hundreds of pounds a year that each motorist will pay. (b)

4. As for pollution, Edinburgh City Council themselves admit that the worst pollution comes from buses, taxis and goods vehicles. The buses and taxis will be encouraged by the Toll. The goods carriers will still have to do their job, so if they avoid the city centre, they will move the pollution into the areas where most people live and schools are.(c)

5. Retail businesses in London are amazed that anyone in Edinburgh can claim that the London charge has had no effect on them. The London Chamber of Commerce and Industry have just published their Third Survey of the effect on the retail sector. Businesses in Edinburgh city centre should take a sedative before they read it! The results include:-

63% of respondents reporting a fall in customer numbers since the charge was introduced,
37% of retailers reducing their staffing,
33% considering relocating to a site outside of the charging zone,
28% considering closing their business.(d)

6. The Westminster government and Ken Livingstone will be relieved if Edinburgh says "Yes" to the Toll. But it would be a suicidal leap into the dark for the people of Edinburgh and the surrounding area.

(a) Congestion reduced?

7. There will be a big reduction in cars entering the Inner zone. But the London experience is that the big reduction in cars entering the zone has not made much difference to traffic speeds within the zone. Immediately before the charge it would have taken about 20 minutes during the day to travel a distance the width of the zone, it now takes 18 minutes 20 seconds. The reduction is small because there is an increase in buses and taxis and because once you have paid the charge there is no disincentive to driving all day.

8. Edinburgh would have inner and outer cordons, so the situation will be more complex than London. There will probably be less traffic entering Edinburgh in the morning peak period, but the traffic that is already within Edinburgh may take long detours to avoid the inner cordon. As was made said at the Inquiry this will mean a "Rat run" in the areas where most people live and schools are situated.


(b) Big profit to spend on public transport?

9. For the part year 2002/03 London expenditure was £77 million and income was £19 million giving a loss of £58 million. In the full year 2003/04 the expenditure was £142 million and the income £187 million, giving a profit of £45 million. About £80 million of the income is estimated to be from penalties. This means that if you just take the £5 charge, the scheme must run at a loss. In Edinburgh the charge will be £2. How can they make a profit?


(c) Less pollution?

10. According to the latest report on London charge, Air Quality has reduced since the charge was introduced. This may not be due to the charge, but there is no evidence that the charge has reduced pollution. Edinburgh has better Air Quality than London and the City Council's own Air Quality Action Plan says that Air Quality is not a health problem and Air Quality will improve even if "nothing is done". The Plan says that the main problem in the city centre is buses and goods vehicles.


(d) Businesses won't be affected?

11. The latest London Chamber of Commerce survey has already been mentioned . On the 12th January, the Evening News reported the results of other surveys of businesses done for the Forum of Private Business.
Bill Anderson from the FPB in Scotland said:- "Congestion charging is now well-established and the survey shows that it is having a 'devastating' impact on small businesses in London."


(More on these points and the sources:- No Tolls - Edinburgh)


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