Road Pricing The John Lewis View Nigel Brotherton 21 April 2006

Summary We recognise the need for road pricing But economic assessment vital Without it, risk damaging city centres Crude congestion charging can hurt retail Retail is crucial to city centre vitality Schemes need careful design New technology has part to play

Who are John Lewis? 26 Department stores t/o £2.4bn 170 Waitrose supermarkets t/o £3.3bn Mid to Premium (cf Globus) Oxford Street flagship 5 other stores in and around London Employee owned

The original London scheme Came in February 2003 All day Monday-Friday £5 charge (now £8) Has to be paid daily Hefty penalties for late or non-payment No exemption for delivery vehicles

The John Lewis Reaction From start concerned about the cost ref delivery vehicles - £100,000 pa Some concern ref sales in Oxford Street. Sharp fall in sales on introduction BUT masked initially by central line tube closure

Something wrong Central Line returned to normal June 2003 Oxford Street Sales did not recover Was congestion charging to blame? Began to question publicly its impact Other retailers in zone questioning it privately Decided to commission independent research from Imperial College, London

The Bell Report Studied sales for Oxford Street and other John Lewis shops Sophisticated modelling to exclude other factors eg Central Line Compare sales to what would have been expected Loss of 5-9% of sales through charge alone

Customer reaction Report included customer research Significant proportion of car borne shoppers come to West End less often Put off by fear/ hassle as much as the charge So lower car park charges did not help Sales at JL Oxford Street still not recovered

Lobbying Pressed for full economic assessment – not had one Pressed for easier methods to pay – some progress but NOT pay on account Secured better communication on hours Secured Mayor’s support for enhancing attractiveness of West End Sales still below 2002 levels

Western Extension Argued for full independent economic assessment – not done Argued that impact will be worse than West End Argued that alternatives should be explored Mayor ignored overwhelming result of consultation

Edinburgh The local Edinburgh Council proposed a very complex scheme Two concentric zones with different times and charges We pointed out the risks of confusion We also pointed out that Edinburgh retail is very vulnerable to out of town rivals Proposal defeated in a referendum

Transport Innovation Fund Seven areas are investigating schemes We are in touch with five where we have shops We are pressing on them the importance of careful economic assessment We are discussing ways of reducing congestion without hitting retail

How Road Pricing can work Needs to be part of overall solution Must have viable public transport options Identify the principal causes of congestion Eg target commuters not shoppers Factor in economic consequences Use scalpel not sledgehammer Look at new technology to vary charges according to time and place

Conclusion We recognise the need for road pricing But economic assessment vital Without it, risk damaging city centres Crude congestion charging can hurt retail Retail is crucial to city centre vitality Schemes need careful design New technology has a part to play