Tomorrow, the Congestion Charge starts in London. Several square miles of the West End and City will become fare zones, with each vehicle driving into them having to pay £5 per day for the privilege.

Traffic in London is appalling. I'm so glad I have a moped (also exempt from the charge, ha), because on a normal day, outside the rush hour, it's still completely impossible to actually predict how long it'll take you to get anywhere. And god forbid you take the bus...

So is the charge going to work? I imagine that the perimiter roads are going to be the most deeply unpleasant, snarled-up frustration nurseries, as anyone who needs to get anywhere NOT in the centre will on principle refuse to pay £5 to get there. But will the centre be any better? It's hard to see how - who on earth would drive into town if they didn't need to anyway? And the thought of substantially more people on public transport is hardly appealing.

So we'll see. At least it's a step to sort out this crappy town.