London’s congestion charge doubled in size yesterday morning, to the sound of gently flowing traffic.

Queues had been predicted on roads bordering the newly enlarged zone but the Automobile Association said that the rush-hour had been tranquil.

Ken Livingstone, the London Mayor, was quick to claim a fresh triumph in the business of charging to use the capital’s asphalt.

“Today’s morning rush-hour has been a successful start to the congestion charge western extension,” he said.

“Traffic is flowing freely inside the the extended zone, on its boundaries and the through route. The zone was until now one of the most congested areas in the UK and the first indications are that traffic levels have been reduced as expected by the scheme.”

But the AA felt that the calm on the roads of Notting Hill, Kensington, Chelsea, Knightsbridge, Pimlico and Belgravia had more to do with the timing of the launch, coinciding as it did with half-term for some schools.

“That will have a reducing effect,” said Paul Watters, head of roads policy for the AA. “In addition a lot of people are nervous of using the system, as happened when it was first brought in. I think that it won’t hit home for a couple of weeks.”

It was 7am yesterday that cameras in 137 new locations began to clock cars that passed into the 16.94 square kilometre area that makes up the zone extension.

Last night neither Capita, which will operate the system until 2009, nor Transport for London (TfL) could provide figures for the number of cars that passed them.

The operational side of the extension had not worked entirely without hiccups. From 7pm until 10pm the day before, the TfL website, used by a third of motorists to pay the charge, could not take payments.

A spokesman for TfL explained that this was due to some curiously timed “routine maintenance” work. A message was posted on the website advising motorists of other ways to pay.

A crowd of 50 residents of Kensington and Chelsea took to the streets in the morning to voice their own concerns.

Georgie Donnelly, who lives on Earls Court Road, complained that the extension had simply increased congestion on the periphery of the area.

Her concerns mirrored one central criticism of the scheme. About 60,000 residents in the extension zone have qualified for a 90 per cent discount and many are expected to go back to using their cars, causing a 4 to 5 per cent increase in congestion in the central area.

Mr Livingstone said: “London is again taking the lead in tackling the problem of traffic congestion and emissions which blight virtually every every major city in the world.”

Double time

— The London charge zone doubled in size yesterday. The western extension added Bayswater, Notting Hill, Kensington, Chelsea, Knightsbridge, Belgravia and Pimlico, including hundreds of residential streets that are never congested

— The extension cost £123 million and is enforced by cameras at 137 locations

— Transport for London expects 50,000 more drivers to pay each day

— Capita will run it till 2009 About 60,000 residents have qualified for a 90 per cent discount and many are expected to switch back to using cars, increasing congestion in the central area by 4 to 5 per cent

— The Centre for Economics and Business Research says that the extension will cost 6,000 jobs and £236 million a year in lost business

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