Don't get hung up on 4x4s. I drive a very (very) ordinary Ford Mondeo estate 2.5 litre which has a figure of 254 CO2's. It's 6 years old and global warming hadn;t been invented when I bought it. And now I am going to pay 3 times what its worth to drive it around. The greenest option cannot be for me to scrap a car that's only done 60k miles and get a new one. But that is what will happen - trust me when I say the state it's in means nobody is going to buy it off me.

wombat, London,

"Why would you need a 4x4 in Central London?" is a much heard comment...

Well, why do you need a 40 inch plasma tv? Why do you need to go out to eat in a restaurant and travel unessecary? Why travel at all?

Why do we need fun? You do not need to laugh! This will cause you to breath more, use more energy and emit more Co2!

For God's sake! Why are you breathing at all!

Sebastiaan, Bergen op Zoom, The Netherlands

Hi,

Anyone here,

Give me a LOGICAL reason,

Why you need 4 wheel drive in central London?

Rgds

Michael Lee, Sunderland,

I refuse to bow down to Ken Livingstone. As a resident of Kensington, i do own a Range Rover and i love it. Regardless of emmisions, why should i pay £25 per day for the privilage to drive? Even if i had a smaller car, i would still pollute. So if everyone switched to Band A and B cars, wouldn't that mean a loss of revenue so they would then make them pay again. This is just another way for them to fleece hard working people.

Anna , Kensington, London,

Mr Livingstone is very confused. Liek politicians of all hues, he [they] are simply searching for the latest way to tax ALL hard working people even more, in order to help pay for the adoption of policies written and dictated from Brussels, ver which the [British -or Scottish?!-] government have littel say.
If the motivation was driven by an urge to reduce carbon emmissions, Livingston would certainly BAN all electric cars. I cannot believe that anyone believes that these vehicles are "zero emmission". Has no one heard of the laws of thermodynamics? The electricity that still has to be produced somewhere (in a power station) loses 70% of its energy by the time it arrives in a car battery. The most efficient place to burn fossil fuels is at the point of need, ie. in the car engine. This "carbon footprint" madness must stop. It is distracting people's attention from the real issue which is general pollution of our environment....not just air pollution.

Richard, Ipswich, Suffolk

In relation to the £25.00 charge....this will be a fantastic own goal. Two things will happen. Firstly, people who are clever enough or hard working enough (or both) to earn lots of money will buy [additional] smaller cars. No effect on congestion there then. Poorer people will have to take the charge on the chin. Secondly, the many talented, high earning JOB CREATORS, will get so hacked off with the attitiude of the governemnt and Livingston in general that they will all clear off to environments where their contribution is more appreciated. See you all in Singapore or Zurich..last one out turn off the lights!

Richard, Ipswich, Suffolk

4x4 drivers only drive the big car to show off.. I dont like them they going shopping and take up 2 spaces and stop road to use they phone with they car still runing.. I got a c1 sp bring it on but they should be tax cuts for small cars.. also think they should be pay more for packing. also car parks should have have some small car packing spaces with a low rate of packing as they take up less space

Dave, england,

What a load of tosh, yet another scam to have more tax of us tax payers. A classic example, I bought a gas guzzling 4.0 litre landrover discovery. I did my sums and worked out that if I had it converted to LPG gas it was cheaper to run than the diesel. I was told that the goverment was doing a £700.00 grant towards the conversion. However when I had bought the car, the government had withdrawn the grant and reduced the discount off the road tax to just £5 !!!!
So I ended up paying £2700, for the conversion, and yes had lots of people saying I was driving a gas guzzler, however they might not have known, that as I was driving LPG, ny emmissions were far lower than most cars on the road, so for all of you who tut at 4x4's, ask if it is on lpg first, and my question is that if I take my clean lpg car into london, because on paper if you want to run it on petrol, am I still going to be charged this massive amount ?????

Mark Bullows, Cirencester, UK

I agree with Gemma. I suppose the next step would be to round up all owners of 4x4s and deport them all to Chelsea, the centre of all environmental evil according to Mr Livingston and others. Perhaps an identification system should also be issued so they all stand out clearly from the rest of the population. But haven't we seen this before?

Bruno, London,

If the point of this scheme is really to reduce the volume of vehicles in London, as already mentioned, we need an excellent public travel service which including security to guard against being stabbed by yobs and guarantees against strikes and 'catastrophic failures' of the rail network. We need tubes 24 hours a day, busses or trams covering areas the tube doesn't reach and guaranteed parking provided all over the country for people who have to drive to these services to use them.

If it's about the environment, issue everyone with solar panels and wind turbines and again, improve public transport.

If it's about taxation, we already pay one of the highest rates in the world for petrol and the people who use more, already pay more.

Or is it about restricting the type of car you drive?

Why doesn't the Government just take our whole salary (as they get most of it anyway) and give us all the same car, house, clothes and... hummm... is that communism on the horizon?

Gemma, South London,

A few thousands of Londoners have been the target of Mr Livingston's personal hatred for years and made, it seems, wholly responsible for the climate change worldwide. Will driving the car of your choice from October 2008 turn you into a careless and selfish citizen and possibly a ruthless eco-criminal? The class system is well and alive! Political delusion too...

Bruno, London,

Good riddance to 4x4s. besides the C02 there are other harmful gases and they are a menace on the roads. You are more likely to die colliding with one not to mention how intimidating they are if you are a pedestrian, cyclist or even another car driver. If oil is finite, why should some have the right to use more of it than others? Well done Ken.

Ben, London, UK

How much it reduces CO2 is irrelevant for the majority of people who have to endure a day in a city. Far more important is how much cleaner the air will be without all the other pollutants from vehicle exhausts.

David, Cheshire,

Shouldn't the number of people in the car be a consideration in working out the relative emmisions? That would encourage lift sharing. I see a long line of people coming from our school with one parent and one child. I have seven seats and they are all occupied.

anne, coventry, UK

How can we just allow someone like Ken to increase the congestion charge but does not improve the public transport mainly the Tube. I have to pray every morning when i go to work that there will be no delays and signal failures. I lived in Moscow for a year and not once was there a strike or any signla failure. Ken and Bob Crow please go and visit Russia and see what a developing country has to offer in terms of public transport. And another thig it does not cost £4 for a single ticket.

The only way i will get rid of my car and fully support Ken's plans is if the public transport was improved. If he thinks he will be re-elected he has to be dreaming.

Chaslav, London,

Why don't governments restrict the size of engines for private cars to 2 or 3 litres max. Engines of this size can do most jobs required by the average driver.No politicians with the testicular fortitude thats why.And not only in Europe but N America too

C Smith, Burlington, Canada

Agree with Riccardo- This is ridiculous, especially coming on top of the Darling non Dom Tax saga. By the way, believe Ken does all his travel in a london cab at 226g/km ! Would like to show some leadership and integirty by using much vaunted public transport ( Bus , Tube network ) instead.Why don't we just get Ken some driving lessons so that he can qualify for a licence and stop going after car users as a lame excuse to raise money.

SK, singapore,

Richard de Gerber boasts he'll continue to drive his 4*4 in London. I live in Kingston and work at London Bridge. I think he'll find that cycling in to London is faster than the 4*4 & ego weaney challenged sports care brigade in every time plus it doesn't produce noxious CO2. Come on Richard, join us, stop adding to global warming, get fit, get on your bike and get those postive endorphins flowing.

brendan, Kingston, Surrey

Gesture politics from Ken. Must be an election around the corner!

How can he justify the polluting London black cabs when there is a move against congestion and emmissions and to get people onto public transport?

How can he allow illuminated advertisng hoardings, illuminated buildings, all entirely un-necessary and wasteful?

Adrian, Epsom,

If we are really serious about climate change and congestion why dont we start a licencing scheme for people who want to use large 4 wheelers .Anyone wanting a licence would have to prove it was necessary and therefore secure farmers etc who really need them
.So many are used for going to the hairdressers or showing off-these are the ones who cause us the problem and annoy other road users .They have become a status symbol rather than a useful tool .

phil, manchester,

All politics. Ken's either trying to secure his vote by splitting Londoners between the haves and the have nots and positioning himself as the champion of the ordinary working person, or he's decided that he's so unpopular and he won't win this time round, so is starting to lay a trail of grenades that his successor will be forced to clear, thus appearing to be inefficient.

matthew, london,

Its time this Red Ken had a taste of his own medicine from when as a jumped -up trade union agitator he was always threatening and instigating strke action.

Take to the streets Londoners this is the only language this government will understand. They are getting away with too much and trampling us into the dirt.
Other major cities will be next so they should be doing the same. It's no good waiting until its too late.

Enough is Enough.

Dek Crossingham, Birmingham, England

I will still be driving my 4x4 in London long after you are gone Ken, although you may be gone sooner than later as hard working families who cannot replace their car will pay more of their incomes and i will use the change in my pocket, thanks Ken for clearing them off the road to allow me to drive through easier and faster, as ever Livingston is all tax and no worries about the people who really need his help!

Richard de Gerber, Kingston upon Thames, UK

next will be to tax: speaking and walking in the City Center.

UK is becoming a big fat JOKE!!!!

riccardo, brussels,

Deluded dictatorship. Control. Money. Nothing more.

T Hamilton, London, UK

The amazing fact is that the C charge has only made money for the operators. The net revenues have been pathetic. So the overall effect has been a tax that has NO benefit except to the operating company. Changing the colour scheem to a rather pale green only adds ineffective targeting to an already rubbish scheme. Government at its worst.

Drawmer, Banbury / Oxford,

The biggest polluters are buses and taxis, then vans and coaches. Try walking in the City, Fleet Street and the Embankment. Not pleasant.

Peter Kaldor, Woking, U.K.

Stop sloppy journalism, sloppy thinking,. Many vehicles other than 4x4s have high emissions and many 4X4s have low emissions.

This is about high enission vehicles not 4x4s.

Having said that, if you want to tax high emission vehicles it need to be on the distance they are driven, this governs the emissions they actually produce. How to do that? it's easy really, move the burden of vehicle taxation away from road fund onto fuel. The more you drive the more fuel you use the more you pay. Takes into account distance drivenand the fuel consumption of the vehicle. Doesn't require complex administration and cannot be avoided.

David, Camberley, Surrey

Taxes, taxes, taxe,s taxes AND TAXIS - more dividends and directors salaries and perks and pensions for those who run these wretched schemes.

Rashmi Panchal, London,

peak oil is coming
End of cheap energy

sf, hatfield,

Global warming - messianic truth - the more you say it the truer it becomes. Within the last 150 years sea levels have risen, now on a "computer model" we are going to be swamped -Tosh !

william, Southampton, UK

This is idiotic beyond all belief, this system does not take any account of the distance driven. 10 km driven in a car emitting 119gkm contributes more C02 to the environment than 5km driven by a 226g/km car yet one pays nothing the other £25 (genius). If this is seriously meant to be a scheme to reduce C02 then charge by the km with a narrower g/km banding.

This is political window dressing, it does nothing significant to reduce C02 emissions, promotes the purchase of newer cars (wonder who contributed to the think tank), and tries to make an increased fee for an ineffiecient system justifiable.

AJ, Oxford,

Ken's anti-car sentiments are well known, and this latest crazy scheme is sheer envy politics. The Champagne Socialists are going bonkers by the day - it is unfair laws like this that make decent law abiding citizens to break the law!!

S R Milton, London, UK

Yet another reason to fly the coop. Britain gets madder by the day.

Andrew Milner, Central Highlands, Vietnam

As a resident, it's not the £25 charge that bothers me as much as the removal of the resident's discount. Despite having an annual pass, I have hardly ever venture into the zone mainly because apart from the occasional need to collect things that I wouldn't (and probably couldn't) carry on public transport, there is very little need to do so.

What I do use the car for, however, is to travel to Sussex a couple of times during the week and because of my position I will now be charged £25 for taking my car out of London. Considering the fact that my VW emits only 13% more CO2 than the top of band F and was purchased 3 years before the £25 charge was even mentioned why should I have to pay 30 times what I used to?

I probably wouldn't have voted in the mayoral elections this year, but Boris now has my vote.

Harry, London,

An increase in road tax for inefficient vehicles, where is the tax for inefficient drivers and what about a tax on the council on their inefficient road humps..?

The good news is that this tax will be used to further improve the transport system, yeah right they've been saying this year after year, the roads seem to become more inefficient and more dangerous, while public transport gets ever more expensive to the point where a car still remains better value for money.

Laurence, Kingston-Upon-Thames,