The mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, today revealed a major blow to next month's congestion charging scheme, when he admitted that a deal allowing drivers to pay the £5 toll at post offices had collapsed.
The blow comes as a double whammy to the radical traffic plan, following this weekend's revelation that less than 10% of drivers living within the congestion charging zone had yet registered their vehicles - leading to fears of call centre meltdown when pricing begins on February 17.
Speaking to journalists this morning, Mr Livingstone accused Post Office bosses of "the worst sort of corporate greed".
The mayor claims that - after protracted negotiations with the Post Office - the company belatedly demanded £1m for processing the payments, quadrupling the original £250,000 deal.
Mr Livingstone said: "This is absolutely disgraceful. The Post Office thought they had us over a barrel, and it was straight blackmail.
"They are a monopoly and they have an obligation to provide a service."
The mayor revealed that the GLA will now be forced to write to every household within the zone to tell residents how to register their car for a 90% discount. Disabled drivers across the capital, who are entitled to a reduction, would also be be informed.
Staff from the private sector partner Capita, who are administering the charge, will also ring all zone residents in the telephone directory.
Although there are 80,000 households within the zone, only 40,000 have cars. If those car owners register before January 26 they avoid a £10 fee.
Sources close the mayor said there was still time for the Post Office to reconsider, but that the mayor had fired a shot across their bows. "Ken is ready to talk", one said.
Payment methods are now primarily through an 800-strong call centre, on the internet, or at a variety of garages and convenience stores.
Mr Livingstone said he had personally called the call centre number, and it had taken a second attempt before he had understood the call menu.
The mayor revealed he would this week approve the final advertising blitz ahead of the introduction of the charge next month.
Mr Livingstone openly conceded "the first day will be a problem", but added: "This congestion charge is not rushed or ill-informed. I've spent more time with it than I've spent at home."
And he promised: "If there was something giving me concern about it now, I would pull it. But I can't see anything that would make the system collapse."
The charge - the first of its kind in the world to be tried on such a large scale - will demand £5 from motorists entering the congestion zone (slightly smaller than zone 1 of the tube network), for trips between 7am and 6.30pm Monday to Friday.
The mayor also promised that the technology for the charge would prove "a valuable tool" for catching the estimated 10% of London cars which are untaxed and uninsured.
One quarter of the drivers of such vehicles are wanted by the police, according to Mr Livingstone, who promised that after "two or three" journeys within the congestion zone, the cars would be indentified, immobilised, and, possibly, crushed.
