Don’t back away from congestion charges, Eamon Ryan — London proves that they work

The same arguments that were used against Ken Livingstone’s schemes are being wheeled out in Ireland — but they have been utterly disproven

Transport Minister Eamon Ryan has said he does not want to price motorists off the road. Photos used in montage by Peter Macdiarmid/Gerry Mooney

Christian Wolmar

It was going to be chaos. Roads would be jammed with traffic avoiding the centre of London. Protesters would set up roadblocks. The police would be overwhelmed. And poorer motorists would be driven to penury.

This was February 17, 2003, when the world’s biggest congestion charge scheme was introduced in Europe’s largest city.