Court of Appeal on Congestion Charge

Today the Court of Appeal handed-down its judgement in the case of R (Independent Workers Union of Great Britain) v Mayor of London & Others [2020] EWCA Civ 1046 challenging the removal of a private hire vehicle exemption from congestion charging in London. The appellants contested that the “…removal of the congestion charge exemption unlawfully indirectly discriminated against certain groups of minicab drivers on grounds of race and gender and against some passengers on grounds of disability…” (at para. 2) under the Equality Act 2010 and Human Rights Act 1998.  Lady Justice Simler, finding in favour of the respondent, found: “In short, the measure and its discriminatory impact on BAME minicab drivers was, in my judgement, justified by the aim of reducing traffic, congestion and pollution.” (at para. 101)