IT and the Congestion Charge: So far, so good

If you read certain national newspapers (and London's Evening Standard), you could be forgiven for thinking our capital city was going to experience meltdown this morning as traffic chaos struck the streets circling the Congestion Charge Zone and public transport collapsed under the pressure of 30,000 extra passengers.

Not so.

If you read some of those reports (and some press releases from companies which will remain nameless), the technology behind the scheme was also doomed from the outset.

Again, not so. OK, so 45 people were sent demands for payment before the system had even gone live. (Mayor Ken Livingstone responds: "Someone pressed the wrong button.")

The website was a little creaky last week.

But other than that things seem to have gone smoothly. Some would say that's quite an achievement given the track record of the company running the technology (step forward Capita) but let's be positive for once - albeit with a dash of realism.

The real test is yet to come. This week is half term. The school runs will resume next week, placing more strain on the roads, trains, buses and of course Ken's technology.

Some questions remain unanswered. Will the people who dodged the £5 charge receive demands for payment? Will those naughty souls who have bought stolen number plates or replaced their existing ones with the Sun's witty '50D U KEN' posters get their comeuppance? Mr Livingstone claimed that using false number plates wouldn't fool the system as the cameras policing the Congestion Charge Zone capture an image of the car and the face of the driver. The phrase 'yeah right' springs to mind...

But as we said, let's be positive. Whatever your views of the Congestion Charge itself, let's hear it for the team behind a large-scale IT project which has gone live without any major glitches. Even if it all falls apart next week, it'll have lasted longer than some government technology projects we could mention.

For some handy hints on running successful IT projects, read our Add comment  Print story   Email story   RSS