C-charge details revealed

Alan Salter: Exclusive

May 25, 2007

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THE M.E.N. can today unveil details of the controversial planned congestion charging heading for Greater Manchester.

Officials were refusing to say anything about the plans before a special meeting of the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities today. But we can reveal:

Rush-hour drivers on the busiest roads will pay £5 a day in charges.

There will be an outer cordon, roughly following the M60, and an inner ring around the heart of the city. Charges for passing through each will vary depending on which one of 15 different corridors drivers use.

The scheme, expected to start in five years, will be so sophisticated that no driver will be able to avoid paying by `rat-running' though minor roads.

But motorists who use the roads outside the morning and evening peak will NOT pay a penny.

Drivers will have to pay a deposit for an electric tag to go inside their windscreen.

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It will be read by sensors positioned along the 15 main routes into the city centre.

Drivers passing through both zones will pay up to £5 and automatic number plate recognition cameras will catch those who try to dodge the charges.

The M.E.N. understands the plan - to go to the government in July as a bid for £1bn from its Transport Innovation Fund (TIF) - will get unanimous support at the AGMA meeting today.

Greater Manchester is competing against nine other authorities, including Birmingham, for the TIF money.

The charging scheme, if successful, will pave the way for congestion charging to be brought in across the country.

It is thought that Liberal Democrat Rochdale and Stockport, Labour Bolton and Conservative Trafford will withdraw their opposition, clearing the way for six weeks of consultation.with the public and businesses before the bid goes in.

The scheme is expected to bring in £118m a year and this will be spent on public transport.

Before then about £3bn will be spent on Metrolink extensions, new trains and bus lanes, using the £1bn TIF money and a further £2bn to be borrowed against the charging revenues.

And we can reveal that plans are in motion to test satellite-based charging technology to move to a second stage in which drivers would pay for exactly the number of miles they travel.

Should we have a referendum on the introduction of congestion charging? Have your say.

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Showing comments 1 to 25 and replies | View All

manchesterpaul, Manchester (25/05/2007 at 09:19)

How long before they think of even more ways of raising revenues for services/infrastructure that is already paid for once via council tax and road tax etc.?

Let's hope nobody puts the idea into their heads of charging pedestrians to walk within the city centre boundaries. Ooops!

SB, Audenshaw (25/05/2007 at 09:19)

Great news.

alvinlwh (25/05/2007 at 09:25)

They just don't seem to get the message. I dare them to give the people a vote and I bet the plan will go down in flames like the one in Edinburgh.

They want drivers to pay, AND pay a deposit for a tracking device? Looks like they just want to make as much money as possible. What if the device fails? Does the motorist have to pay a fine for that as well?

Robert Tocker, Worsley (25/05/2007 at 09:27)

I hope that all you who voted for the Loony Labour in the Local elections are very happy now. Just wait it will increase year by year.We are now losing our freedom to travel when we want.I suggest you contact your MP and demand a referendum on his matter, after all He/She works for you.Put a stop to Dick Leese and his Loony Labour.

Colin W, Stockholm (25/05/2007 at 09:32)

does this mean that people who dont drive during the chargeable times will pay zero road tax. i dont think so?

Tameside Latic (25/05/2007 at 09:36)

Yet another tax on the motorist, Fuel Tax, Road Tax, Insurance Tax & Now a congestion tax. They even have the cheek to ask you to pay for the equipment in your car so they can charge you. This is Very Bad for business and those living outside the M60 Boundary want to visits shops within the Boundary but not in the City Center.

Ms D, Manchester (25/05/2007 at 09:50)

We need a referndum and I want to know WHY we are being treated differently from the people of Edinburgh who did have a referendum ? There are too many unanswered questions about this scheme :-
1. What are the two peak periods ? Will employers then introduce flextime to allow staff to get to and from work without having to pay ?

2. Will councils make those staff exempt from the charges who have to drive as part of their duties ? If they don't, councils will have to pay the costs which I am sure they will pass on to the council tax payers.

There has not been enough information provided and don't forget if people are not happy with this, there will be a general election before these charges come in so there is time to do something about it.

Jake Long, City Centre, Manchester (25/05/2007 at 09:56)

Well I will not be paying it no matter how sophisticated their technology is.

I hope that they will try and pursue me for payment because every time that they try, it will cost them money and aid in the bankruptcy of the scheme.

Orb the Impaler, Rochdale (25/05/2007 at 09:59)

I cannot believe the arrogance of these people! More than 70% of people consistently oppose this tax and they're just battering it through.

What's even more laughable is the introduction of bus lanes which simply exacerbate congestion. This extra congestion can then be used as a reason for congestion charging.

I hope this government gets the same massive backlash that the Tories got for the Poll Tax.

Pravda (25/05/2007 at 10:04)

And again...the clock struck thirteen!!!
Funny how before the local elections the opposition parties were full of hot air about how they were going to object to it. But then again are we surprised?

Jake Long, City Centre, Manchester (25/05/2007 at 10:05)

"New Bus Lanes" - so they are suggesting that we should pay more for less road space as well as funding other peoples' modes of transport. NOT A CHANCE!!!

Tony Ford (25/05/2007 at 10:12)

If Roger Jones thinks he is going to 'tag' me like a common criminal by placing a tracking device in my car, he can think again. As for Richard Leese who was on the radio this morning asking for better alternatives; well here goes. Try returning footpaths to their original width, pushing bus stops back to the kerb, widening junctions and retiming all the traffic lights you have purposely reset in the past to cause congestion. There's plenty for you to work with.

Lucy Palmer (25/05/2007 at 10:18)

I curently commute about 15 minutes by car from Irlam of the Heights to Salford Quays. There is no suitable public transport - other than getting a bus into town and a tram back out again, which is expensive and very time-consuming. I absolutely oppose having to pay for the right to use my own car to get to work and back home. I also strongly believe that it's going to put many small companies out of business, simply because they need transport in order to do their jobs properly. The big guns will survive while the independent, and often local, operations will suffer.

Simon B, Warrington (25/05/2007 at 10:22)

Well here it is.

The big lie.

A device in your car you have to pay for.

simply a tracking device.

You wont get me coming to Greater Manchester again.

Large Scale Protest time me thinks.

Kurt Stephens, Sale (25/05/2007 at 10:22)

Very good news in my opinion, if the Tories and the Lib Dems are going to back this proposal then it will most certainly win government backing as Birmingham have gone cold on the idea.

No doubt the usual dozen or so suspects will complain over and over again, but hey, you cannot please all the people all the time.

With regards the question at the end of the story about the referendum, as has been shown on these boards many times over the last year, there would never be agreement on the question, which could range from "Should the GMPTE invest £3bn in public transport over the next 5 years?" to "Should the public of Manchester pay a congestion charge?", when in reality what is being offered is a mixture of both.

Did the people of Bury have a referendum when the bin collections went alternate weeks and then back to weekly? Did the people of Manchester have a referendum to decide whether or not to bid for the Common Wealth games in the 1990's?

No, in this country we have a long standing democracy when we only hold referendums that affect the unwritten constitution of the country, i.e. adopting the Euro, or joining (or leaving) the EU.

Just because a vocal minority (as the MEN opinion poll showed) object, it does not mean we should go down this route.

Superb (25/05/2007 at 10:23)

A total disgrace, where has all the money we pay on fuel duty (more than anywhere in the world)Road tax etc all gone Iraq? Third world debt! its not gone to sort the roads etc out where its needed, they knew years ago people would want to drive, and that the roads would end up gridlocked! when they get a decent public transport system that actually works! people may use that instead,why is it always money, money, money, what about changing school times,look at this week the roads are 100% better due to school holidays, try getting HGV's back on the railways, or overnight,maybe hitting those that have one in a car to encourage car share? those are the first points of call? but no, we pay over the top taxes, council charges,tax on our holidays, insurance, tax tax tax!! when are we all going to actually fight these idiots! have wages gone up that much...NO! Those poor people simply trying to get to work to earn a living to survive in this Jungle we live in always end up paying, and we do nothing about it. FIGHT THE COUNCIL HEAD ON! COME ON.

Simon B, Warrington (25/05/2007 at 10:46)

Finally the prices for Manchester

£1 to enter the central zone.

£2 to enter the out zone.

£1 to leave each zone.

Thats £1 just to get out of Greater Manchester, not to enter

so to get in and out of the centre from outside of Greater Manchester

Going in.

£2 outer zone + £1 to Leave outer Zone + £1 to enter inner zone = £4

Leaving £1 to leave central zone + £2 to enter outer zone + £1 to leave the zone = £4

Total of £8 per day.

Weekly £40

Monthly £173

Yearly £2080

Durns, Ashton u Lyne (25/05/2007 at 11:03)

That could very well see me out of work I doubt very much there will be public transport available at the times I would need it, and I wont be able to afford the charges! Cheers

Susan Curtis, Audenshaw (25/05/2007 at 12:21)

Surely before you start charging you need to get the public transport system sorted out. London is very lucky because it has a very good infrastructure. This is not the case in Manchester, indeed it is a long way from being so.

ratsleaf@yahoo.co.uk, Manchester (25/05/2007 at 13:27)

It is about time something was done. Cars are smelly, noisy, dangerous and harmful to the environment - I think the charges don't go nearly far enough. Treble the charges at least. Put massive restrictions on cars as soon as possible!

steveinthesky, manchester (25/05/2007 at 14:17)

I think it's a fantastic plan. The roads in the morning are chock-a-block and something needs to be done. I have a car but choose to leave it at home and commute by bus into the city centre daily for work, so the charge won't affect me. People need to get rid of this snobbish attitude they have towards public transport and start thinking of the wider issues ie. congestion and the environment. As long as the money is pumped back into the public transport system for Manchester then I'm all for it!!!

tofromcafe, openshaw (25/05/2007 at 14:27)

This congestion charge is totally unfair. I will have to cross the boundary just to bring my mum shopping as she lives in Ancoats and cannot use public transport it is a disgusting charge

LawLecturer (25/05/2007 at 15:58)

Just had another thought . . .

I work near Oxford Road, where most of the traffic is buses. Will they pay?

David, North Manchester (25/05/2007 at 18:06)

... and why does nobody ever mention cycle lanes for all these billions? More people on bikes would reduce congestion for motorists as well as benefit our health.

lee parkinson (25/05/2007 at 19:35)

Why cannot the government ban commercial vehicles from being used during the rush hours? surely the problem is only between rush hours and commercial vehicles could either get in and out of the centre either earlier or later than the rush hour....oh ....you wouldnt make any money!!!! ah...sorry my stupidity!

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