Sadiq Khan is considering a pay-as-you-drive system with Ulez cameras

Sadiq Khan has asked Transport for London to look into using ULEZ cameras to charge motorists in a pay-as-you-drive scheme in the capital.

The London Mayor faced a backlash over the Outer London expansion, drawing millions more into orbit to pay £12.50 a day for pollutant use from August.

Tory MPs have been vocal in their criticism of the program amid growing signs of unrest in Khan’s own Labor party, with former Prime Minister Boris Johnson accusing the mayor of “looking to scoop money from motorists”.

But Mr Khan has now admitted that Transport for London is also looking into developing a system where “more sophisticated technology” could be used to charge road users, The Telegraph reports.

Speaking at the London gathering this week, he added in response to a question: “ANPR cameras could be part of the potential operation of such a system, but no proposals have been developed.”

The Mayor of London at a People’s Question Time in Ealing, west London on Thursday evening

Tory MPs, along with growing signs of unrest in Khan’s own party, have been vocal in their criticism of the ULEZ expansion

As part of the ULEZ expansion, TfL plans to install around 2,750 additional cameras – of which 300 are already installed in some districts.

But Tory members of the London Assembly argue that Mr Khan’s response is a hint at his plans to use the camera network to impose road user charges.

Mr Khan has previously announced that he wants to introduce a network of “Singapore-style” toll roads across London as part of efforts to improve the capital’s air quality.

He said the “closest point of comparison” for his road user charging plans is Singapore, which has an “electronic road toll” where sensors are placed on portals above major roads to capture number plates.

These sensors track what time drivers use certain roads and charge them a toll based on those factors, for example, rush hour traffic is more expensive on a busy road.

But that change isn’t currently possible in London because “the technology isn’t there”.

However, cameras introduced as part of the ULEZ expansion could be used to monitor the distances drivers travel, where they travel and the levels of emissions their vehicles emit – with fears that the Drivers could be billed miles away.

It comes as City Hall’s Transport Committee launched a consultation last month on the “possible introduction of variable or distance-based smarter charges for road users”.

The scope of the consultation adds: “For Londoners, the potential introduction of variable or distance-based smart road pricing would be the biggest change in the way daily transport is paid for since the introduction of Oyster and the Congestion Charge nearly 20 years ago. ‘

And during a transport committee meeting at City Hall on Tuesday, TfL’s strategy director Christina Calderato said she was keen to move the plan forward at the “earliest possible stage”.

Protesters took to the streets of London demanding that the proposed Khanage be stopped

A response from the mayor last week reportedly said that the rollout of a new system should be by the end of the decade at the latest, while TfL began hiring software engineers last summer.

However, a spokesman for Mr Khan said the road user charging scheme is just one of several options being explored and would look at the availability of public transport in the area in question, as well as employment and income.

A statement added: “Any formal proposals that might be developed in the future would be the subject of a consultation with information on detailed program proposals and their likely impact.”

It comes as angry drivers blasted the mayor earlier this week after he branded some ULEZ opponents “far right” and “Covid deniers”.

The Mayor of London held a People’s Question Time in Ealing, west London, on Thursday night as the extraordinary confrontation unfolded.

During the sulky session, Mr Khan said: “Some of you have good reasons to oppose Ulez, but you are in a coalition with Covid deniers… You may not like it… You are in a coalition with the far right. And you are also in coalition with vaccination refusers.’

Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk