DRIVERS face charges of up to 80 pence a mile under plans by Transport for London to halve congestion across the capital.

Cars would be equipped with satellite tracking devices and drivers would be charged at different rates depending on how close they came to the centre.

Under the plan, the rate from the outskirts of London to the north and south circular roads would be 16 pence a mile. From these roads to the boundary of the existing charging zone, the rate would be 48 pence a mile. Inside the zone, drivers would be charged 80 pence a mile.

A return journey from one side of London to the other would cost about £15.

Some drivers who commute short distances into the existing zone would pay less than they do under the current congestion charge. But millions of motorists who never drive into the existing charging zone would pay several hundred pounds a year to use their cars in outer London. The scheme, which would come into force in 2015, would collect a total of £3 billion a year from drivers compared with the £180 million they currently pay .

Michelle Dix, TfL’s director of congestion charging, said that the scheme would cost between £500 million and £1 billion a year to run. This would leave a profit of at least £2 billion to be invested in transport schemes such as rail tunnels under London and tram systems.

Ms Dix said that the scheme would halve congestion across the whole of Greater London.

The existing scheme has cut congestion by 30 per cent inside the zone but had little impact on traffic jams elsewhere.

Ms Dix said that the scheme depended on expensive satellite technology and would need to be part of a national programme. “But we believe the technology could be ready to introduce it in 2015,” she said.

Labour pledges in its current election manifesto to consider introducing road pricing.

TfL is the first authority to produce detailed plans of how the system might work and how much it might cost.

Drivers would open an account and pay in credit. The system would track their movements and deduct charges. Monthly statements would be issued to drivers giving details of their journeys and the different rates they had incurred.

The rates would vary according to the time of day and level of congestion on the roads used. TfL will shortly begin trials in Southwark of a tag and beacon system that it hopes to introduce in 2009. It involves roadside beacons detecting tags in cars and deducting charges.

CAUTION, ROADWORKS AHEAD

• The £5 charge will rise to £8 on July 4
• Ken Livingstone plans to double the size of the zone from 2007
• Charging schemes could be introduced elsewhere in London from 2009
• Edinburgh rejected a £2 congestion charge in a referendum in February
• 49 per cent of people oppose congestion charging, according to a survey by the Engineering and Technology Board

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