Manchester Congestion Charge bites the dust
Greater Manchester residents have voted against the implementation of a congestion charge in the region.
Nearly 2 million people were eligible to vote, while only 53.2 per cent voted, the charge was rejected by all 10 Greater Manchester Councils.
The plans needed a majority in favour in at least seven of the councils to get the go-ahead.
The bid for the Government’s Transport Innovation Fund (TIF) will not now go ahead and will mean that the area will lose out on potential £3bn investment in public transport.
The Freight Transport Association (FTA) is disappointed by the news, claiming that reliable, COST effective and efficient cross-town commercial deliveries are ‘engendered’ by the lack of peak time traffic control in Manchester.
Malcolm Bingham, FTA Head of Policy for the North of England, said:
“The Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority (GMPTA) had engaged well with the FTA to explore the real implications that the C-charge would have made on the myriad goods, service and postal delivery vehicles that supply local business. While more work was needed to secure the best level of urban access for commercial vehicles, the groundwork had been laid and we were confident that the congestion charge could represent something of real benefit to businesses and the logistics industry in the area. This decision is a real missed opportunity.”
The proposed Manchester congestion charge included an exemption for lorries for the first year. With the possibility of more permanent commercial vehicle exemptions, and the considerable financial boost to the local public transport network that was promised, it could have been a ‘win-win’ situation for Manchester’s businesses and its citizens claims the FTA.
Malcolm Bingham continued: “We were hopeful that lower congestion levels would have improved efficiency in the logistics sector and not brought added costs.
“Clearly, the massive financial incentive for Manchester to adopt a congestion charge was not enough to convince the voters. Perhaps the government should now sever the link between the Transport Innovation Fund (TIF) and congestion charging, deploying the TIF for investment in urban areas without the shackles of the congestion charge?”
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