Cycling News

Manchester says 'Yes' to congestion

When asked if they'd like to pay more taxes, residents of Manchester have today answered with a resounding 'no'. Just as in Edinburgh, when citizens are asked if they want a congestion charge, they vote against

The BBC carries the totally unshocking news that the majority of Manchester's residents would prefer not to pay for driving their cars.

The city - like many around the UK - suffers from chronic congestion and traffic forecasts predict much worse lies ahead. Had there been a 'yes' vote, the Government was going to sweeten the pill with massive investment in public transport initiatives.

Green groups in Manchester were in favour of saying yes to a congestion charge but motorists did not want to pay money for road use.

The argument that Vehicle Excise Duty - VED or 'road tax - doesn't actually pay for the huge expense of road use cut no ice. Many motorists in Manchester seem to believe it's their 'right' to drive on roads they have 'paid for out of road tax'.

Many local authorities were looking to the Manchester vote before deciding whether to go ahead with congestion charging schemes of their own.

In London, Ken Livingstone pushed through a congestion charge when he was mayor. It was not put to a public vote. Many groups and individuals were opposed to the charge but a huge and immediate improvement in driving and cycling conditions caused the opposition to wither and die.

Lord Peter Smith, Leader of The Association of Greater Manchester Authorities , said:

"I am of course very disappointed with the outcome. It is always a huge challenge to win any referendum and this one was always going to be particularly difficult - given the high feelings it has engendered.

"The [Transport Innovation Fund - TIF] proposals may have been rejected but I am sure the people of Greater Manchester remain united in their desire to see this great city region succeed.

"We will now have to work towards this without the benefit of £3bn investment in public transport which would have given a remarkable stimulus to our economy in these difficult times.

"We can now expect these resources to be re-allocated to other parts of the country including London."

The directional, peak-time, weekday only congestion charge - which was a necessary part of the TIF proposals - would have been in operation for five hours out of every 24 hours and less than one in ten motorists would have faced a charge of any kind.

Lord Peter Smith said: "Businesses will now have to accept that rising congestion on the roads is a cost they will have to bear and factor this into their plans."

Published Friday 12 December 2008