FEWER cars are using the roads of central Manchester than six years ago, anti-congestion charging campaigners have revealed.
They say official figures show that an average of 24,968 entered Manchester city centre in the morning rush hour last year - more than 4,000 fewer than in 1999.
And latest statistics also show that peak period car use is down in all but one of the 10 council boroughs of Greater Manchester. Only Oldham shows increased traffic, up by 5.5 per cent.
Meanwhile, Eccles had a massive 22.1 per cent drop in traffic with Altrincham close behind at 22 per cent.
Manchester Against Road Tolls says that the figures undermine council leaders' claims that the city is heading for gridlock and they add that congestion is, in fact, caused by squandering road space on bus lanes, rephasing traffic signals and `politically correct' traffic calming measures.
Spokesman Sean Corker said: "I think the situation is being engineered by the councils. They are creating the congestion for political motives. Like Ken Livingstone, Sir Richard Leese in a non-driver, which is a clue to the policy.
"Both London and Manchester are led by people who don't drive, and so fail to understand the vital role cars play in the lives of ordinary people. Any listening is confined to how they can massage the figures for public acceptability.
Watershed
"This revelation marks a watershed moment in the toll tax debate. Manchester Council can never again claim with any credibility that the charge is about tackling congestion.
"Their scheme is nothing more then a dishonest, greedy tax on hard working motorists."
The Association of Greater Manchester councils submitted a bid in July to the government for £3bn of improvements to public transport in return for congestion charging.
One of the leaders of the bid, GMPTA chairman Coun Roger Jones, angrily dismissed the new claims as `absolute nonsense'. He added: "It is true that more people are using public transport because of the congestion they face.
"But to try to say that there is no congestion is not and can never be true."
Rob Adlard, the defeated Conservative council candidate for Manchester city centre at the last election, said: "This proves what many have felt instinctively all along.
"The charge is simply another stealth tax in order to cover for the lack of genuine government investment in Manchester
What do you think? Have your say.
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Simon B, www.manchestertolltax.com (27/09/2007 at 06:31)
I'll say it simply, the reduced number of cars, shows that you are delibratly engineering congestion.
Manchester City councils own state of city report by KPMG says there was no noticable increase in congestion last year, and that polution was down as well.
Simon B, www.manchestertolltax.com (27/09/2007 at 06:54)
probably the 10 councils own figures, the ones they choose not to tell you about and bury deep huge reports they know no one reads.
Call me Dave, Manchester (27/09/2007 at 08:26)
The council must have had access to these statistics to be able to put the TIF bid together. WE HAVE BEEN LIED TO. The congestion charge has nothing to do with congestion and everything to do with taxing drivers
Note Roger Jones' reply
It is true that more people are using public transport because of congestion'
An official admission from the Dark side - Congestion is self regulating!
polkyb (27/09/2007 at 09:04)
Maybe it's because he's been found out?
Maybe it's because these "irritating people" keep trying to stop him from selling out Greater Manchester for the next 30 years, by telling the truth and quoting accurate figures at him.
Maybe there will soon be a job for him at the Springfield nuclear power plant? :-)
The Catcher, In The Rye (27/09/2007 at 09:19)
Pob Warby (27/09/2007 at 09:32)
Did they think of that? Doubt it, their figures are clouded in their own fumes!
Dave (27/09/2007 at 09:51)
Surely they wouldn't like to be hypocritical?
Chris, Irlam (27/09/2007 at 09:53)
Rob (Manchester Against Road Tolls) www.manchestertolltax.com, Denton (27/09/2007 at 11:25)
Tameside council recently sent out their quarterly newsletter claiming that the proposals had "all party support". Check out http://www.tamesidetories.com/page.php?pid=122
which shows tameside conservatives are against the proposals and have been lied about by Tameside Council. How much more bs do we have to put up with?
Philipac, Northenden Manchester (27/09/2007 at 11:25)
Simon B, www.manchestertolltax.com (27/09/2007 at 11:54)
I submitted two about 3 hours ago
Simon B, www.manchestertolltax.com (27/09/2007 at 12:06)
Not our figures.
go look at the MART web site
www.manchestertolltax.com
its the councils own figures, not ours.
edwards (27/09/2007 at 12:53)
Call me Dave, Manchester (27/09/2007 at 13:33)
Tom Evans (27/09/2007 at 13:39)
What a straw man. Would he care to address Sean Corker's actual claims?
Simon B, www.manchestertolltax.com (27/09/2007 at 13:58)
who is it who reduced all the car parking spaces by demolishing car parks and selling the others on.
Nice way to create artificial congestion there.
Dave (27/09/2007 at 14:01)
It is solid facts that nationally many more people own cars than ten years ago, and that many more trips are made in these cars.. so how can congestion have decreased in these areas?
I'm genuinely interested in this, can anyone provide an explaination?
Simon B, www.manchestertolltax.com (27/09/2007 at 17:20)
however new drivers passing their tests are slowing down.
and the number of drivers over 65's is increasing faster.
in the next 20 years we could see a driver number decrease.
and more people using public transport.
ebble (27/09/2007 at 18:02)
Pescado (27/09/2007 at 18:18)
shayla (27/09/2007 at 18:39)
SHAME ON THEM !
Caught out lying and trying to obtain money by deceit, because that's what it boils down to.
It's just another way to grab more money from the average hard working person to help them plug the holes of Labour's bad management.
NEVER MIND A REFERENDUM, NOW WE WANT AN ELECTION !
My pen is poised Gordon Brown. Your days as PM are limited.
CALL AN ELECTION - I DARE YOU !
Call me Dave, Manchester (27/09/2007 at 22:09)
So how do MART explain these figures? I'm not saying they are false, but what's the explanation for the drop in congestion?
I'm genuinely interested in this, can anyone provide an explaination?
The figures are for the number of cars entering the town centres of the major towns in Gtr Manchester. This has nothing to do with congestion - that was Roger Jones mangling his words again.
There are 4000 less cars entering Manchester in 2006 then there were in 1999, or a 14.5% drop. This means that people are switching to public transport of there own volition without the Councils so called 'behavior modification' voodoo.
The fact that Roger Jones claims this is due to congestion proves that congestion is self regulating - The more congestion the less people travel by car thus congestion goes down and traffic gridlock is physically impossible.
Its a good job Jones is retiring he's losing the council the argument all on his own!
ace, manchester (28/09/2007 at 12:54)
S P In exile, Tameside (28/09/2007 at 14:58)
The improvement since the IRA bombing the new office buildings the proposed and present skyscraper buildings the BBC move, new residency in the city all creates congestion.
This is not the doing of us ordinary folks it is the doing of the city council they are the ones who have encouraged the expansion of Manchester city centre thus leading to more congestion this is the highs and lows of trying to create a modern day city.
A lot of business and money is generated in the city congestion charging could drive these positives away, another city could tempt business and jobs away with incentives i.e. reduced business rates etc, companies put call centres in India why shouldn’t business’s be lured out to other cities by enticements.
Manchester council is making a rod for its own back.
Bryan Neill (28/09/2007 at 18:33)