| In 1900, motoring was a luxury hobby in Britain, | | | | Congestion Charge Zone (CCZ). The main |
| and there were only 8,000 cars in the whole of | | | | objectives of this charge were to reduce |
| Britain at the start of the 20th century; but by | | | | congestion, and to raise funds for investment in |
| the end of the century the car population had | | | | London's transport system. |
| soared to 21 million. The number of cars on the | | | | Nowadays, with the rising cost of oil resulting in |
| roads began to rise during the 1920s as | | | | higher petrol and diesel prices, the cost of owning |
| manufacturers started to make small, lightweight | | | | a car in London is higher than ever. According to |
| and cheaper vehicles for a wider market. Cars at | | | | the AA, the average cost of a litre of unleaded |
| this time were still relatively expensive. The Austin | | | | petrol was 104.2p at the end of 2007; a litre of |
| Nippy, was at the top of the Austin 7 sports car | | | | diesel would have set you back 109.2p. |
| range and cost £152 - about £8,500 | | | | But the rising price of fuel is only the tip of the |
| in today's money. | | | | iceberg when it comes to the cost of motoring. |
| The boom in car ownership occurred in the 1950s | | | | According to Sainsbury's Bank, the average cost |
| and 60s. Car ownership in London quadrupled | | | | of running a car, excluding petrol, is now just over |
| between 1950 and 1970 as standards of living | | | | £1,000 a year. And if you have borrowed |
| rose and car prices fell. By the mid-1960s, there | | | | money to buy your vehicle, as most car owners |
| were 1.5 million cars registered in London and the | | | | have, the costs are even higher. |
| numbers continued to rise until the end of the | | | | The astronomical expense of motoring has |
| century when 2.2 million cars were registered at | | | | encouraged many people to reconsider whether |
| London addresses. | | | | they need to own a car at all. If you live in a city |
| Increasing car ownership meant increasing traffic | | | | and only have the occasional need for a set of |
| congestion. By the 1960s, London's traffic problem | | | | wheels, it could work out considerably cheaper to |
| was considered to affect only the evening and | | | | ditch your vehicle and instead consider car hire |
| morning rush hours in central London. It was not | | | | Rental vehicle companies and city car clubs |
| until the 1980s that congestion came to be a | | | | provide a service that allows you to hire cars |
| problem across London at more or less all hours | | | | near your home for anywhere between half an |
| of the day. This culminated in 2003 with the | | | | hour and a month at a time, with the end result is |
| introduction of the controversial London | | | | that for a fraction of the cost of running your |
| congestion charge, a fee for motorists travelling | | | | own car, you could enjoy similar access to a set |
| within those parts of London designated as the | | | | of wheel whenever you need them. |