There are few political debates in which the left supports a regressive tax on the poor, while the right opposes a free-market policy of benefit to business and the rich. That, though, is the politics of congestion charging. Its main proponents are urban liberals, sick of traffic-clogged cities, who would rather everyone got the bus. The most vocal opponents are heavy road-users: businesses and country-dwellers. Yet, in the UK, the losers from nationwide congestion charging would be those on modest incomes who are priced off the roads. The winners would be businesses, which could swell profits from traffic-free streets and highways.
Congestion charging has gained ground in Britain: the success of London's scheme and hours stuck on motorways have persuaded the public that road fees are not just a plot to raise tax. Road-charging powers seem likely to be part of the next Queen's Speech. Though business is the natural beneficiary, it will lose out if it does not vocally support the right kind of scheme. You benefit from the congestion charge if you value speed, reliability and peak time travel more than other motorists. You gain if the value of your time is high and you would rather spend it in a fancy restaurant than a traffic jam. You gain if your daily "mission impossible" is to get round London's M25 in rush hour. You gain if arriving at 9am means a sale, while arriving at 9.45am means a customer complaint. If the value of a faster, more reliable journey exceeds the cost of the charge, you are a beneficiary.
