London's congestion charge zone has doubled in size from this morning as local authorities attempt to improve traffic flows in the capital.
Motorists must now pay must now pay £8 a day to drive in Kensington, Chelsea, Knightsbridge, Notting Hill, Bayswater, Belgravia and Pimlico in addition to the original zone in central London.
Residents of these mainly wealthy areas can apply for a 90 per cent reduction in charge, which costs drivers between the hours of 07:00 GMT and 18:00 GMT.
Malcolm Murray-Clark, director of Congestion Charging, which implemented the system, claimed statistical evidence backed up the need for expansion.
He said: "Since the introduction of the charge in 2003, traffic levels have been reduced in the central zone by 20 per cent, meaning that each day in 2006 there were almost 70,000 fewer vehicles entering the charging zone compared to the number that had been entering each day before charging began."
West London Resident's Association chairman Gordon Taylor argued that the extension was unnecessary.
He said: "There are no traffic, financial, economic or environmental reasons for the extension," reports Sky News.
"Only some main roads, forming about five per cent of the extension's road length, are congested from time to time.
"These could be much more cost effectively dealt with using a road pricing approach."
Transport for London claims that the introduction of the original congestion charge four years ago has led to 70 fewer road accidents per year, an increase in the number of cyclists and a "significant cut" in carbon dioxide emissions.
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