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NINE months after London started to charge motorists for driving in the city centre, the leaders of the world’s cities are falling over themselves to see if they can repeat London’s trick of cutting traffic jams. “We have been inundated with requests to talk to people. It’s just been incredible,” says Michelle Dix, who is the joint head of congestion charging at Transport for London (TfL).

It is easy to understand the excitement. For nearly a hundred years the world’s city dwellers have been trapped in a vicious circle. Every year more and more cars crowd onto the roads.…

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