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Fewer jams but lots of snags in capital
Page 12
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LONDON'S CONGESTION charge scheme has failed to improve since it came into operation last February with operators still facing administration problems, according to the Freight Transport Association.
The industry body says 11 months on. its members are still unhappy with the level of customer service, billing information and the operation of fleet accounts FTA regional manager Sarah Watkins accepts that the reduction in traffic is good news for companies delivering goods. But she warns that the benefits are far outweighed by increased red tape and admin costs Bob Ball, Young's Brewery's regional distribution manager, agrees that traffic in the zone has eased but confirms that the cost has been high: -We have tackled the situation by sending the same vehicle back and forth across London but the charge will still cost us an extra £27,000 a year.
"We will continue to back the FTA's campaign for CVs to be exempt. There should at least be some sort of concessions for businesses who have fixed sites within the zone."
Ball is also concerned about Westminster Council's parking fine procedure in the zone: "We contest every ticket that we receive and have half of them overturned. The council even admitted to us that many wardens are not adequately trained one gave us a ticket for parking for one minute in a 20-minute loading bay."
A spokesman for Transport for London says the Mayor agrees that services are not satisfactory: this is why its contract with Capita was changed.
"Capita is now required to deliver a wide range of quality improvements between August 2003 and March 2004," the spokesman explains -The new money will only be paid if Capita provides these improvements."