London to scrap congestion charge extension

The western extension to London's congestion charge zone is to be scrapped after two-thirds of Londoners and businesses said they wanted it removed, Mayor Boris Johnson said on Thursday.

A consultation on the future of the extension, brought in by former mayor Ken Livingstone in February 2007, found that 67 percent of individuals and 86 percent of businesses favored scrapping the scheme.

With a few exceptions, such as taxi drivers and motorcyclists, all motorists have to pay a weekday charge of 8 pounds to drive through the parts of London covered by the scheme.

Plans to extend the congestion charge zone, the world's largest, had always attracted fierce opposition and in the manifesto for the Conservatives' election campaign earlier this year, Johnson had vowed to ask the public for their views.

"I promised that I would respect their opinions and I promised that if clear support for a particular way forward emerged then I would act on that opinion," he said.