London was the experiment but there isn’t any reason congestion charging can’t be applied in any city across the UK. All that’s needed is a set of traffic cameras, a computer system with automatic number plate recognition software, a hotline to the DVLA, and a smart operating company.

The good news for other cities wanting to follow in the Capital’s tyre marks is all the ingredients have now been put together and the recipe is beginning to taste pretty good. Prior to the scheme starting on Feb 17th 2003, Transport for London (TfL) claimed congestion was costing the Capital between two and four million pounds a week in lost business. But now, one year on, traffic congestion has been cut by 30%. Even more impressively bus delays have been slashed by 60% thanks to smoother traffic flows and many more miles of bus priority lanes.

Bob Kiley, London’s transport commissioner, is in no doubt about the need for demand management. “This is a major step forward for the city. London needs action to tackle congestion now. It's time to get London moving and reduce the traffic jams that are crippling our capital."

The system itself is fairly simple. Driving into the charging zone you are picked up by a bank of cameras positioned at every entry point. There are also mobile units inside the zone, so if your number plate is missed on the first pass it’s likely you will get seen at some point.

The method of payment is varied. Firstly you can buy an annual pass. And if you’re a resident you can get a discount of up to 90%. Other payment methods include mobile phone text messaging, where you register all your details then simply text the revenue company, Capita, when you enter the charging area. You can also pay over the phone, or on-line.

The charge is £5 before 10pm on the day you enter the zone, rising to £10 between 10pm - midnight. If you don’t pay, your number plate details are sent automatically to the DVLA computer which should send back your personal details to Capita, including your name and address. You will then be sent a fine in the post. The initial fine for non-payment is £80, reduced to £40 if you pay within two weeks.

The ultimate penalty for non-payment is having your car clamped and removed. It can also be crushed or sold at auction if you don’t go to the car pound to get it back.

The system sounds pretty simple but Transport Commissioner Bob Kiley did admit on the scheme’s first anniversary in February there was “still much to be done”. His attitude mirrors that of everyone at Transport for London, and in the Mayor’s office. They can quite rightly paint a rosy picture of what’s happening to London in transport terms but that’s not to say there haven’t been problems.

The main sticking point has been the amount of money raised. The Mayor was hoping he’d make around £130 million gross, of which he’d spend about two thirds on improvements to the bus network. Unfortunately in the first year they have only raised about £68 million.

Bearing in mind the initial outlay of £180 million, the break even date has been severely put back.

The big problem has been enforcement. The DVLA database is only about 90% accurate, so some people were entering the zone without paying but not getting caught. To catch up with these people Capita, the company running the charge of behalf of TFL, sub-contract out to NCP. They have mobile patrols operating in and out of the charging area with handheld computers with a log of non-payers.

As a result it appears more people are now paying. Figures show 110,000 motorists pay the charge on a daily basis but as some are season ticket holders it’s resulted in around 65,000 fewer cars in the zone. But there are still around 13,000 motorists who are on the ‘Wanted’ list, serial offenders who haven’t yet been caught.

Far higher on the snagging list though was the ‘misplaced finger’ plague - where customers and call centre staff were tapping in the wrong details accidentally. The biggest mistake was mixing up zeros and the letter ‘o’, which created a lot of confusion for some motorists.

Over time Capita has built in more intelligent and logical software that’s helping to sort out these hiccups. Future projects will benefit from the London experience.

Overall, Transport for London estimate these congestion reductions and public transport improvements are saving London businesses £180 million a year. Why? Well, because staff aren’t late, meetings start on time, and deliveries are more reliable.

The CBI has already made an assessment involving a survey of their members.More