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Brussels considering London-style congestion charge
The Brussels Region is currently working on the possible introduction of a London-style congestion charge for cars in order to curb the capital’s traffic problems, De Morgen and Le Soir report. Initial tests suggest that a levy of €3 per day would reduce congestion by 11%. A consortium formed with leading consultancy Rapp Trans NL, a world authority on congestion charge, examined the possible effects of such a tax on mobility in the capital. Brussels environmental agency Stratec and French firm Carte Blanche also took part in the study. As much as €450m a year could be generated by introducing a €3 congestion charge, the study suggests, a sum which, as is the case in London, would be entirely invested into developing public transport. The Brussels region wants to reduce traffic congestion by a fifth by 2018.
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Brilliant! It's about time; public transport provision in Brussels is now insufficient for the number of people who use it. Plus mobility around the city is greatly reduced because of the volume of cars. I can't imagine what the pollution levels are like...
Congestion charges have worked in other cities and it could do Brussels so much good. Anyone who's been here (or seen the figures from TomTom and Inrix in the news) knows how serious the traffic congestion problem is in Brussels. It takes a heavy toll on commuters, residents, business...
I was doubting that the region and the municipalities would ever muster the political will to move beyond "considering" solutions and battle it effectively. But maybe I'm wrong!
Can't wait!
I can't make sense of the poll... Why isn't there an option to vote "Yes, 3€ should be the starting point". Remember the idea is only being considered. By the time the messy Brussels political mingle will be 'ripe' for this, a lot more cars will have been entering Brussels every day, I'm afraid... But yes, please, get on with it, the sooner the better ! And invest the cash in all alternatives, especially cycling, which will give much faster results (and will help keep people fitter) !
So if you live in the city of brussels, do you pay for this charge, or is it only for people who live outside of Brussels?
Unfortunately in this country, common sens isn't efficent as people are brain washed in the Belgian "Educational" system so the only way out is the "hit on the head" ! 3 € is not enough !!! 10 should be the minimum to get some changes.
Fully agree! There are too many commuters polluting our air and paying taxes elsewhere. It is only fair that they leave a bit of their tax money here in Brussels.
Ah yes, that's the solution. Introduce another tax to one of the most heavily taxed electorates in the EU.
Alternatively, they could, oh, I don't know, discourage companies from giving company cars to every employee (thereby tacitly encouraging people to drive into the city when they could, in reality, take public transport)
There should be exclusions for people who, quite simply, could not realistically take public transport (e.g. families travelling in together to drop kids at school)
The proposition is not a tax, it's a user fee. Very different things. In a fair world taxes that were previously used for road maintenance would be lowered as funding starts to come from the congestion charge. That would shift the financial burden away from "the taxpayer" to "the road user." In practice, that rarely happens. Taxes usually go one way - up.
Great -- works in London so should work in BXL. The fee should be 10 euros to make an impact on the user. Am guessing the perimeter would be inland from Bois de la Cambre to Koekelberg and Gare du Midi to Gare du Nord -- within those confines you pay. This means finally getting CCTV to monitor everything -- as well as cars passing through traffic lights, cars blocking the intersections, and cars racing going straight when in a left hand turn lane. We should also begin vignettes for non-Belgian plated cars using our Ring road (Switzerland does, Germany is about it, France/Germany/Italy make you pay to use their autoroutes, we should too. Am tired of all the trucks/cars/carvans cruising through Belgium and congesting the roads we pay for.