Say no to Private Hire Vehicles being Congestion Charged

The Issue

UPDATE: This petition originally said 'Say no to London's Private Hire Vehicles being Congestion Charged' but we have removed the word 'London' as we believe Private Hire Vehicle should not be Congestion Charged NATIONALLY.

The text below still explains the original petition, as London's PHVs are currently being threatened with the Congestion Charge, which is obviously one of the our major current campaigns.

TfL are proposing to levy the Congestion Charge on London Private Hire Vehicles (PHVs), which are an integral part of London’s Public Transport system.  The LPHCA was instrumental in getting London PHVs exempted from paying the Congestion Charge when Ken Livingstone was Mayor of London and will be launching a full-blown campaign to try to prevent that exemption being removed.

If London’s Private Hire Vehicles are Congestion Charged some fares will treble, most fares would need to increase between 10 & 20% and minicabs could become as expensive as black cabs.

PHVs are used by the elderly, disabled people and many other groups, such as non-car owners, as the cheapest form of bookable door to door transport, they are also far more environmentally friendly than the average London Taxi, which are also far more expensive than PHVs.  TfL are not proposing that London Taxis should be Congestion Charged, which may have serious equality and competition issues.

The Travelling Public, hospitals, sports facilities, businesses, places of entertainment and Local Authorities are dependent on London’s PHVs as a primary form of affordable transport.

Congestion Charging is intended to reduce congestion not to make it more expensive to get to work or home safely.  There are many things that TfL can do to improve congestion in London and Congestion Charging PHVs is not one of them, it will simply be a tax on those who need to use PHVs the most.

Please sign the petition and kindly get others to do so too. 

Please also visit LPHCA.CO.UK to follow our campaign and find out how you can also let TfL and the Mayor of London know how you feel.

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Licensed Private Hire Car AssociationPetition Starter
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14,596

The Issue

UPDATE: This petition originally said 'Say no to London's Private Hire Vehicles being Congestion Charged' but we have removed the word 'London' as we believe Private Hire Vehicle should not be Congestion Charged NATIONALLY.

The text below still explains the original petition, as London's PHVs are currently being threatened with the Congestion Charge, which is obviously one of the our major current campaigns.

TfL are proposing to levy the Congestion Charge on London Private Hire Vehicles (PHVs), which are an integral part of London’s Public Transport system.  The LPHCA was instrumental in getting London PHVs exempted from paying the Congestion Charge when Ken Livingstone was Mayor of London and will be launching a full-blown campaign to try to prevent that exemption being removed.

If London’s Private Hire Vehicles are Congestion Charged some fares will treble, most fares would need to increase between 10 & 20% and minicabs could become as expensive as black cabs.

PHVs are used by the elderly, disabled people and many other groups, such as non-car owners, as the cheapest form of bookable door to door transport, they are also far more environmentally friendly than the average London Taxi, which are also far more expensive than PHVs.  TfL are not proposing that London Taxis should be Congestion Charged, which may have serious equality and competition issues.

The Travelling Public, hospitals, sports facilities, businesses, places of entertainment and Local Authorities are dependent on London’s PHVs as a primary form of affordable transport.

Congestion Charging is intended to reduce congestion not to make it more expensive to get to work or home safely.  There are many things that TfL can do to improve congestion in London and Congestion Charging PHVs is not one of them, it will simply be a tax on those who need to use PHVs the most.

Please sign the petition and kindly get others to do so too. 

Please also visit LPHCA.CO.UK to follow our campaign and find out how you can also let TfL and the Mayor of London know how you feel.

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Licensed Private Hire Car AssociationPetition Starter
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14,596

The Decision Makers

Sadiq Khan
Sadiq Khan
Mayor of London
Responded
“Dear Petitioner Thank you for the petition submitted on the change.org website about proposed changes to the Congestion Charge. There is an urgent need to tackle increasing congestion and toxic air in central London. Congestion causes delays to vital bus services, pushes air pollution to critical levels and makes too many places unpleasant for walking and cycling. Appropriate interventions are required to address these issues. In recent years, the impact of the Congestion Charge on congestion has lessened due to the increasing number of vehicles exempt from paying. Only half of the vehicles in the Congestion Charge zone in charging hours now pay the full charge. Private Hire Vehicles (PHVs) play an important role in London’s transport system, providing an alternative when walking, cycling and public transport are not an option. However, there are many more PHVs in the Congestion Charge zone than was expected in 2003 when the exemption was introduced. At that time, Transport for London (TfL) estimated around 4,000 PHVs would be in the zone during charging hours whereas now around 18,000 PHVs are seen in the zone each day. This is a considerable increase that needs to be addressed. The proposed changes to the Congestion Charge have taken into account the role PHVs play in accessible transport and designated wheelchair accessible PHVs will not be required to pay the charge. Additionally, PHVs that meet the proposed Cleaner Vehicle Discount requirement would continue to be exempt. In developing these proposals, TfL has considered the potential impacts – both positive and negative - on private hire drivers and operators, as well as passengers. The research report on the impact on the industry, as well as the Integrated Impact Assessment (IIA), formed part of the consultation materials and are published in full on the consultation website. These studies indicated that the impact of these proposals on PHV passengers, operators and drivers would depend on a number of factors. These include the type of business model of the operator and whether the cost is passed onto the passenger, in whole or in part. The impacts are not likely to fall on any single group and they will each decide how they choose to deal with the charge. It is important to remember that passengers, operators and drivers, as well as the wider population, would benefit from positive impacts from reduced traffic and better air quality. As mentioned above, TfL has formally consulted on the proposed changes to the Congestion Charge. The consultation closed on Friday 28 September, and the issues raised are now being reviewed. The Mayor will consider all the points raised and will then decide whether to confirm the proposals as described, or to make changes to them. The Mayor will publicly announce his final decision, and TfL will also publish their Consultation Report in due course. Yours sincerely Public Liaison Unit Greater London Authority”
Transport For London
Transport For London

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Petition created on 6 July 2018