This afternoon I led the Westminster Hall Debate on Smart Road Pricing.
The London Borough of Sutton is ranked 29 of the 33 London boroughs for transport infrastructure (including the City).
Sutton is the ONLY borough in London that doesn’t have either Underground, Overground, Crossrail or Crossrail 2.
And, Sutton is the least funded Transport for London borough in the entire city.
As expected, due to this and the geographic location on the fringes of London, we have some of the highest rates of private car ownership and usage in the capital. Put bluntly, down in Carshalton and Wallington, we rely on our cars for work and personal life. Any policy that impacts the road transportation network will impact my constituency and my constituents.
As we work towards achieving our Net Zero targets, we must ensure to strike the right balance for our constituents to create truly sustainable alternatives to high emission modes of transport. Road pricing (or charging), in the broadest term, essentially involves making a direct charge for use of a road or network of roads. The Mayor of London and a Lib Dem Assembly Member recently discussed the prospect of introduction smart road pricing in London as early as the early/mid 2020s. During discussions with the Transport Select Committee it has been made clear that any smart road pricing initiative would need to be led by national Government- not a local or regional authority.
You can watch my whole speech above, but if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch at elliot.colburn.mp@parliament.uk.