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Congestion charges backed by all 10 Greater Manchester councils

3:54pm Friday 26th January 2007

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MORE congestion charging for motorists could be on the way with the approval of a new scheme for Manchester.

Bosses from 10 local councils in Greater Manchester have backed a report proposing a congestion charge by 2012.

Manchester would be the second city in Britain after London to bill drivers for journeys within a network of roads. Others cities, including Birmingham, are considering schemes.

The Manchester system would target 15 roads with the worst congestion using the latest journey monitoring technology.

The report claimed it would charge less than the £8 currently paid in London.

Unlike the capital's "blunt" all-day charging scheme, motorists would pay per mile - a charge that would vary according to the route taken and time of day.

Satellite tracking, electronic tagging and licence plate recognition technology are all being considered as methods of charging drivers.

The charges would be put in place at pinch points across the whole of Greater Manchester.

The report by the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA) will now be subject to public consultation so drivers, local residents and businesses can have their say.

The councils say it is a "prerequisite" that the charging scheme is acceptable to the public and businesses.

AGMA has already agreed that the scheme would not be introduced on roads until those affected have a reliable, integrated public transport system which provides a genuine alternative to the car.

The report states that if no action is taken to address road congestion and improve public transport, Greater Manchester can expect to underachieve employment growth by up to 30,000 jobs in the next decade.

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Andrew Bowyer, says...
6:32pm Fri 26 Jan 07

I assume, then, that the GMPTE will be backing a tram system for Bolton along its arterial roads.
Oh sorry, I forgot - they're not interested.

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B Breakell, says...
7:31pm Fri 26 Jan 07

I do not recall the council asking for my views on this, and your online poll indicates that these proposals are opposed by 7 out of 10 of those voting. Add oposition from 2 out of 3 of our MPs (the third has yet to indicate her view), Bolton businesses and the Bolton News, on what authority does our representative presume to agree on our behalf? Voters should ascertain candidates views on this at this years local elections and take them into account when deciding who to vote for.

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Druid, says...
7:33pm Fri 26 Jan 07

Sounds like we should be buying shares in the local privatised tranport companies. With cars being forced off the road these people will be given a blank cheque. It will be interesting to see how the GMPTE are going to force these private companies into new investment and routes. I'm not even going to mention efficiency. Mind you as a plus, it will solve the parking problem at the Royal Bolton Hospital.

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Fiona, says...
9:45pm Fri 26 Jan 07

Buses are either really late, or early and trains are mostly once every half hour - how are we supposed to live in a place where cars are discourage when public transport isn't even half as good as in London?!

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voice of reason, says...
10:34pm Fri 26 Jan 07

So what will the road chargers do about all the unregistered vehicles that already avoid road tax, insurance and speed camera detection? This is just another tax on the HONEST motorist. Just raise the price of petrol because that is what is really happening here.

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colin howard, says...
11:20pm Fri 26 Jan 07

if they got rid of all the stupid cycle lanes it would be a big help to ease the congestion

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Paul, says...
5:13am Sat 27 Jan 07

Colin Howard - Get rid of cycle lanes ? Which planet are you from. Giving back a metre wide bit of rood will really ease congestion. Not.
If we had the technology to charge single occupancy cars but allow people with two or more in the car to still travel free this would be both fair and make a huge difference. Have a look around you and see how many people are on their own. Failing that we could enforce that people who live within 4 miles of their place of work and are under 45 years of age leave their cars at home by cycling to work. May I suggest Colin you go to Holland and see how many people cycle there. Go on - Expand your horizons.

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David, says...
8:34am Sat 27 Jan 07

In London this charge tries to persuade commuters to use the extensive public transport system & by and large visiting tourists and businessmen arrive without a car. In Bolton this is different. It is just another scheme to rake in money at the expense of the local economy.

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Chris, says...
9:02am Sat 27 Jan 07

This is all wrong - the poorer motorist forced off the roads to make way for the wealthy? If you are interested in fighting such proposals google notolls and make your voice heard!

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Tubby Scruff, says...
9:49am Sat 27 Jan 07

Is it any wonder we lose out to China in manufacturing, retailers lose out to the internet with proposals such as this ?
There is a choice, just remember election time and rid yourselves of these elected Communist Councils.

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William, says...
10:34am Sat 27 Jan 07

B Breakell wrote:
I do not recall the council asking for my views on this, and your online poll indicates that these proposals are opposed by 7 out of 10 of those voting. Add oposition from 2 out of 3 of our MPs (the third has yet to indicate her view), Bolton businesses and the Bolton News, on what authority does our representative presume to agree on our behalf? Voters should ascertain candidates views on this at this years local elections and take them into account when deciding who to vote for.
Don't expect Ruth Kelly to say anything on this. This is the Government with the highest tax levels ever and she supports them.

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ian riley, says...
11:15am Sat 27 Jan 07

I leave 7-8 Miles from the centre of manchester, I live 2minutes from a train station that goes into manchester. Unfortunately I can't catch this train into town, because the 3 carriages that are on it are full when it hits walkden!!!!. Then I thought I'll catch the bus, which takes 1.5 hours to travel in, not because of the traffic, but beacuse of the route it takes. We are not london, we don't have a underground system. we have a tram system that the government stopped from expanding!!!, so if the bus companies are only interested in profit and a train system that belong in the third world and a government that is unwilling to allow the expansion of the tram system, it is upto to us to pay for incomptent, un-coordinated goverment and council departments, who have had decades to sort this problem.

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Paul, says...
11:15am Sat 27 Jan 07

Form an orderly queue at the Australian embassy. This country is going to the wall.

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Cargirl, says...
11:31am Sat 27 Jan 07

If they could sort out decent clean buses every 10 minutes which turn up on time, and decent shelters to wait I would be glad to use them and help save the planet at the same time

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EL, says...
1:46pm Sat 27 Jan 07

Is car parking going to be cheaper then? Or are we going to have a clean and frequent public transport system that we can all travel on without extortionate rates? One that will turn up every few minutes so people aren't left waiting for buses for half an hour that may or may not turn up, or waiting for trains only find out they have been cancellled?

I doubt it. And I also doubt that our ages would be increased to cover the extra cost for people who work in city centres. If this takes force a lot of people will end up having to pay a fortune just to get to work, and for people like me on a realtively low wage, I will have to look for employment elsewhere.

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Niss prissy, says...
8:25pm Sat 27 Jan 07

I sat down tonight and discussed with my family the possibility of my little girl and I moving abroad as I am desperately unhappy now living and working in Bolton (and the UK). This council MUST realise the effect that there decisions are having on the community in which they serve. Don't they LISTEN to public opinion???? How many more of us will up sticks and more elsewhere in an effort to live in a sane society? It's madness.
Bolton will end up a ghost town eventually with only drop outs and druggies as all the working people who would like a nice comfortable standard of living will move out.
I thought about changing my vote but alas fear they are all as bad as each other and not one party stands out as 'reasonable'.

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colin howard, says...
11:31pm Sat 27 Jan 07

hi paul, most drivers drive at least one metre from the white cycle lane line thats two metre,s either side of the road making a total of 4 metres thats more than the width of a bus ,also the cycle lane signs are very misleading and nobody seems to understand them and that includes all the driveing schools .

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colin howard, says...
12:12am Sun 28 Jan 07

hi paul,as an after thought may i suggest you go to the bury bolton rd at 8am and stand near the mile lane intersection the road is narrowed down to single line traffic either way making it impossible to overtake even the slowest moving car even though its one of the widest roads in bury ,also may i suggest you count the number of cyclists, the cars outnumber the bikes by about 1000 to 1 ,and also how much do the cyclist pay for there i metre of road?,in closeing we are not in holland are we ,and i always try to not be personal in my postings but try to approach everything i write with a bit of common sense and reasoning.

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Bob, says...
9:19am Mon 29 Jan 07

Roll out the house with the wind howling and rain horizontal, wait 1/2 hour for a bus and then be subjected to a mass of unhygenic, B.O. ridden coughing ,sneezing people. trawl along to the train station, wait for a train that may or may not turn up and crowd in with above mentioned persons again. No thanks. A car is faster and a lot more comfortable. The powers that be will have to convince a significant percentage that they do have to wash each day, and that you dont wear a shirt for two or three days on the trot! Then sort out travek times, conditions and prices. Bus shelters should be that a shelter from wind and reain, not designed for maximising advertising revenue

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Graham, says...
5:46pm Thu 1 Feb 07

If the councillers want a congestion charge then they should give up their cars and use public transport and that goes for the civic cars as well Put your money where your mouth is .But of course this wont happen because we need our car to see our consituants .What a laugh.Do as we say not as we do.after all now that they receive a salary we should be treated differently .if this is Socialism then bring on communisam or should I say Dictatorial council which we have

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Frank Unsworth, wigan says...
10:42am Wed 14 Feb 07

Road charges, just another tax and what are you going to do with the money give it to private contractors like London. Its your public transport that are the problem, Bus stops everywere causing congestion. Cut down on bus stops and remove them from junctions, mini round abouts, bottle necks and islands. Remove them from town centres. They cause traffic jams and add to the carbon emissions. Lets have a bit more walking to a bus stop and have central pick up points of the main roads. Go to Hindley near Wigan and check out the amount and dangerous locations of bus stops and congestion caused. Make all traffic lights so that the traffic filters left and give way when not busy. Get your highway departments to work through the night or after peak hours, again go to Wigan and surrounding areas . Highways management at its worst and they are the biggest polluters along with other council departments that pay lip service to Agenda 21. Agenda 21 is not about extra tax. Get it sorted or get voted out.

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mancmonkey, Manchester says...
10:41am Thu 2 Aug 07

I will not pay the CONgestion charge and i am already doing my bit for the environment. I have halved my intake of baked beans and this has dramatically reduced my bottom's carbon foot print

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