Why London traffic is still so bad, even after congestion pricing

London introduced congestion pricing over 20 years ago to tackle some of the world's worst traffic. Today, on average, drivers still spend 101 hours a year stuck in gridlock – so why is the once-controversial £15 daily charge more popular than ever?

While the charge hasn't eliminated congestion, and it's made an expensive city even more expensive, it has quietly transformed London in other ways: funnelling over £2.6 billion into public transport improvements and reducing air pollution. 

As cities worldwide consider similar measures, London's two-decade experiment offers crucial lessons about what congestion pricing can and can't achieve.

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