POLL: Should Sadiq Khan introduce pay-per-mile scheme on London roads?

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has dismissed claims he intends to introduce a pay-per-mile scheme for motorists driving in London as “categorically wrong”.

Roads Minister Richard Holden told MPs earlier this week that the Labour mayor had instructed officials to look at introducing the scheme in anticipation of revenue from the ultra low emissions zone (ULEZ) reducing in the future.

He told the Commons: “I met the acting chief financial officer and Seb Dance, the Deputy Mayor for Transport, yesterday [Tuesday]. They informed me that the Mayor of London, in anticipation of falling revenues from ULEZ in the next few years, had asked them to investigate the technicalities of introducing road charging across London in the future.”

City Hall rejected the claims on Thursday, with a spokesperson for the Mayor saying: “This is categorically wrong. Officials actually told the minister the opposite – there is no prospect of it being introduced in the foreseeable future.”

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The technology to introduce a Singapore-style scheme, using sensors to monitor travel, is still many years off, according to the Mayor’s office.

Mr Khan told  MyLondon earlier this year: “The ultimate destination is a smart road user charging scheme in London. We’ve been looking around the world about what sort of schemes they have. The best one, and it’s a compliment, is Singapore, but it’s not quite what we’re after. 

“What we want is a scheme that can treat each driver differently in relation to time you’re driving, distance you’re driving and if there are good alternatives with public transport and how polluting your vehicle is.”

So what do YOU think? Should London introduce a pay-per-mile scheme in the future? Vote in our poll and leave your thoughts in the comment section below.