Managing congested networks: London's experience

In 2003 London introduced the Congestion Charge scheme in central London. While it has undoubtedly been successful in reducing the number of vehicles entering Central London during the working week, other pressures on the network and the continuing need to move more and more people has placed ever increasing demands on planners and traffic engineers to look at the causes of congestion and ways of addressing them so the network can continue to be managed effectively. The reallocation of road space to more efficient modes integrated with land use planning are important policies in meeting increased demand and are being used with an increasing frequency here in Australia, but this paper looks instead at some of the operational tools that have been or are being developed in London to meet the current causes of congestion and future challenges.