Gregory White
NBC News
April 6, 2008
LONDON – As New York commuters brace for possible charges for driving into the midtown area, they can at least be thankful they don’t live in London, where Mayor Ken Livingstone has staked his re-election hopes on boosting the “congestion tax” to as much as $50 a day.
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The New York State Legislature still needs to approve Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s pricing plan this month or the city stands to lose $354 million in funding to help kick-start the project.
The proposal involves raising tolls for entering New York via tunnels and bridges as well as charging drivers an $8 fee to drive in the area below 60th Street between during daytime hours on weekdays.
Livingstone, locked in a bruising contest with conservative candidate Boris Johnson, has proposed levying a £25 (about $50) charge on vehicles deemed to be causing the worst pollution, including four-wheel drives such as “Chelsea Tractors,” Land Rovers dubbed as such because of their predominance in London’s ritzy southwestern borough.
The tax would replace the current £8 (around $16) congestion charge, implemented in February 2003 and aimed at combating pollution and overcrowding in central London’s traffic-choked streets.
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