The advertising budget to promote congestion charging in London is so large that 3.2m cars will have to enter the capital to cover the publicity costs alone.

Advertising agency PHD has clinched a media account worth £16 million to mount a major campaign supporting the congestion charging plans.

With a proposed daily fee of £5 per day per car to enter charging zones between 7am and 7pm, Transport for London (TfL) needs 3.2m cars to pay the charges to cover the cost of advertising alone.

TfL estimates that currently about 250,000 vehicles make 450,000 movements into the zone during the working day, and predicts that the scheme will cut traffic levels inside the charging zone, measured in 'vehicle kilometres', by 10-15%. (October 11, 2001)