Suspend congestion charge and roadworks during strikes, Khan told
THE Mayor of London should lift the congestion charge and stop nonessential roadworks during next week’s rail strikes, the business minister has said.
Paul Scully called on Sadiq Khan to take the pressure off commuters at a time when industrial action “risks people’s livelihoods”.
In an interview with LBC, he said: “What I would also call for though, is... that in London the mayor lifts the congestion charge and stops nonessential roadworks on those strike days to make it easier for people to go about their business and get into work.”
City councils up and down the country have also been pondering the issue. Responding to a question at a recent council meeting, Cllr Ian Ward, leader of Birmingham city council, said: “The clean air zone is in place because of poor air quality… so, I don’t think it’s in the interest for anyone to be disbanding it even on a temporary basis.”
Mr Scully echoed calls by Edmund King, the head of the AA, who said all parking charges, congestion and clean air zones, as well as unnecessary road works, should be halted to ease the burden on those who will be forced to drive to work.
He told The Daily Telegraph: “If there are no trains whatsoever coming into Glasgow and Edinburgh, for instance, and people have to go about their business, there could be a case for suspending parking charges for the duration of the strike.
“Otherwise there is the danger of some areas becoming ghost towns.”
Mr Scully accused unions of putting livelihoods at risk at a time when the economy was in a fragile position. “If you’re going to strike you risk other businesses, other people’s livelihoods, but also the rail system up and down the country, including in London,” he said.
“Because we are at a point where we are trying to get people back into work and it’s fragile – any excuse to stop people travelling really does affect the fare box and the financial viability of the rail service.”
A spokesman at the Mayor’s office said: “At the heart of this industrial action is the Government’s appalling approach to public transport across the country, not least its continued resistance to delivering the sustainable funding TFL desperately needs.
“With TFL expecting the capital’s roads to be more congested next week, it’s important people travel only if essential and the mayor is calling on Londoners to cycle and walk whenever possible in order to reduce pollution and minimise congestion.”
It comes as 10,000 tube workers from the RMT and Unite unions prepare for strike action that will shut down the network on Tuesday. This is alongside the 40,000 railway workers who will be walking out across the country.
Mr Khan has accused the Government of “whipping up” division by imposing certain cost-cutting conditions in the TFL funding deal.
He said: “At the core of this is the Government... orchestrating and engineering and inciting a strike in London by attaching these conditions to the funding deal, which has got the trade unions really concerned.
Mr Khan added that “this is classic deflecting from Shapps and Johnson who are responsible for this divisive politics, for whipping up them versus us, communities versus workers”.
“It’s punishing the wrong people - it’s the Government who are attaching these strings, not Londoners, not our businesses, not our key workers,” he said.