London Letter Bombs

What is going on ?.First it was the IRA,that was kind of sorted out by Tony who then got bored of not seeing Londoners bombed to bits so invited the Al-Queda and just as we seem to be getting used to losing leg and limb for daring to venture out we have some fellow/fellows(yet unknown)aiming to maim Londoners by mail.

A pattern is emerging in the episode. Seems someone or some people with a grudge against the Government and its policy(read seemingly unjustifiable,indirect taxation of car owners) have decided to take matters into their own hands.The first attack was on the offices of Capita. An outsourcing firm that handles the payments for the congestion charging scheme. We know the extension to the scheme is coming in less than a fortnight. Could this be a protest against the extension?

The DVLA in Swansea has also been sent one of these mail bombs. Surely some very very unhappy motorist has an axe to grind. Sending mails to these places would not bring any fruitful result. It only places ordinary pen-pushers going about their job in serious jeopardy.They do not make the decisoions in these places. Sooner the mail bomber realizes this the better.

Congestion Charging Extension Countdown

Despite widespread disquiet with the extension of the Congestion Charging Scheme in central London Ken Livingstone forced the idea through and this month sees the scheme starting in a sizeable swathe of west London. For a couple of weeks red C signs have been springing up on newly included areas. I must confess its kind of weird to see those dreaded C signs on streets which they never were before. There are even talks of confused tourists paying the toll to drive on these roads even though the extension does not start until the 19th of this month.

I do not believe the extension to the scheme has anything to do with traffic calming or congestion. Just a cynical way of taxing the public. The Mayor saw the immediate revenue potential in widening the scheme and thought wise to take advantage and raise funds. With the emphasis on `immediate potential` because respected studies have shown that it is not financially beneficial in the long run to extend the scheme.

One wonders then why, if there is no considerable concrete benefit to traffic flow in these areas and the cost involved in the long run Livingstone still decided to go ahead with it.