Motorists are to be charged £5 a day to drive into central London on weekdays, mayor of London Ken Livingstone has announced.

Although the it is facing opposition from Westminster council, the scheme is set to begin on February 17 2003.

Forum Response: London First

Stephen O'Brien, chief executive of London First, told ePolitix.com: "The biggest threat to London's competitiveness is its transport system. The capital is being strangled by its own success as its roads become increasingly clogged with traffic. Decades of under-investment in public transport have left us with a crumbling infrastructure and a serious lack of capacity.

"The attraction of congestion charging is that it is the best way of dealing with both the poor performance of the public transport system and chronic traffic congestion. The mayor is able to raise an additional stream of funding for transport while taking some of the traffic off the roads.

"It is essential that the projects on which the money is spent should be clearly identifiable. A special fund should be set up so that there is proper accountability. It is also essential that the spending should be seen to be additional to what is already available. The whole credibility of congestion charging would be undermined if the government took the opportunity to cut its grant to Transport for London (TfL).

"The mayor's proposal to pay for dedicated extra transport policing is a high priority for using the revenue from congestion charge, as is better information about bus services. Some the extra funding should also go into better management of the road system, particularly co-ordination of road works. New projects such as Thames Gateway river crossings and light rail schemes will take longer to achieve, but the availability of a secure revenue stream will make it possible to raise private sector funding for their construction.

"Exemptions for vehicles using green fuels will provide a real incentive for business to introduce alternative fuel vehicles to their fleets. This in turn will encourage the further development and innovation of green fuel technology and support the mayor's ambitions to improve air quality in London and create 5000 'green collar' jobs.

"There are calls for a public inquiry so these issues can be debated at length. There are lots of possible reasons for more deliberation and delay. Unfortunately dithering and delay have been all too characteristic of the way transport is managed in London, leading to mounting frustration and threatening London's competitiveness. To quote one of our members 'imperfect action is better than perfect debate'.

Forum Response: Transport for London

Bob Kiley, transport commissioner, told ePolitix.com: "This is a major step forward for the city. London needs action to tackle congestion now. It's time to get London moving and reduce the traffic jams that are crippling our capital. Going forward, Transport for London will be working with partners to ensure the effective implementation of the scheme."

Derek Turner, managing director of TfL Street Management, told ePolitix.com: "The aim of congestion charging is to reduce traffic congestion in central London - this scheme is anticipated to cut traffic levels by 10-15 per cent and reduce traffic queues by a quarter.

"Building on the improvements already introduced to public transport, we have also planned the introduction of 200 new buses, where there will be more than 10,000 extra spaces across the busiest hour to accommodate people who will transfer to public transport.

"And, once the scheme is up and running, all money raised, which will be in excess of £130 million a year, will be ploughed back directly into improving London's transport network, whether that's buses, roads or trains."

Forum Response: Federation of Small Businesses

Richard Morse, chairman of the FSB's London Policy Unit, told ePolitix.com: "This new scheme will be an annual £1200 'poll tax' and consequently a huge burden on businesses in London. It makes no allowance for essential deliveries to businesses and will particularly hit smaller firms, since the charge will be proportionately higher for them."The self-employed and small businesses form an important part of London's economy, and they rely on accessibility to their customers and on frequent deliveries. Small business will lose out if public transport is not significantly better before the introduction of congestion charging. Implementing the charges so soon is putting the cart before the horse."Everyone knows that the level of traffic in London must be reduced, but the quality of life for Londoners will not be improved by damaging the businesses which creates the city's wealth and will leave London as the only city in Europe and the USA with such a destructive scheme."