BUS fares across Greater Manchester will be capped if congestion charging is brought in.
Prices are likely to be simplified with the introduction of two new bands - one for short journeys and a standard fare for all other trips.
Further capped fares are also planned which would allow unlimited travel for two hours, one day or a week. New `smartcards' would allow people to top up automatically and travel on trams as well as buses.
The capping, which is supported by the bus companies, is one of a number of proposed changes to Greater Manchester's transport innovation fund (TIF) bid. There will also be a 20 per cent discount on bus and tram tickets for low-paid workers, with the threshold likely to be the level of the minimum wage.
And the maximum daily amount anyone would pay under the congestion charge will be halved from £10 to £5. The original £10 maximum would not have affected many motorists as it was unlikely that they would pass through the congestion zones more than once during the peak-charge times.
But there were fears it could have hit delivery drivers needing to cross Manchester several times - so the maximum charge has now been set at £5.
Other changes include:
A new train station at Golborne, near Wigan
£20m investment in Salford Crescent station
A new Metrolink stop at Kingsway Business Park, next to the M62 near Rochdale
Sixty extra Yellow School Buses.
The East Lancs railway would be brought into service as a commuter railway from Rawtenstall through to Heywood and Manchester.
The revised proposals also contain a final list of those who would not pay the congestion charge.
Disabled drivers, motorcyclists, hackney carriages, minicabs, emergency vehicles and registered-recovery will all be exempt - as will anyone on their way to a medical appointment. Lis Phelan, of the TIF `yes' campaign, said fare-capping was `the news transport users have been waiting for'.
"The combination of a fare cap, simpler tickets and lower fares for low-paid workers is welcome news for bus passengers in Greater Manchester," she said. "This will make a real difference to the household budgets of many families and individuals across the region."
But the anti-congestion charge Greater Manchester Momentum Group said the new proposals were not enough. A spokesman said: "We will study these new documents in great detail but we are disappointed at such an insignificant response by AGMA to the flaws in what would be the world's largest congestion charge scheme.
"Even after these changes many parts of Greater Manchester would see little if any improvement to public transport services. AGMA has previously talked about assisting people on low incomes and it is disappointing to learn that what they meant was people on the minimum wage. How does this help tens of thousands on low to average pay?
"The discount sounds like a bureaucratic nightmare and adds to the overall costs of a scheme that already doesn't add up, making it harder to repay the £1.2bn of debt. This will either increase the charges or add to council tax."
The bid would see more than £2.75bn ploughed into transport schemes, including £318m to set up a peak hour, weekday-only congestion charge.
Some £1.2bn of the total would be in the form of a loan, paid back over 30 years out of profits from the charge.
Changes to the proposals are likely to be agreed by Greater Manchester's 10 councils at a crunch meeting on Friday.
They will also decide whether to accept the proposed leaflet - which explains the investment and the congestion charge - and the wording of the ballot for the referendum.
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Con,Con,Con. they will say anything to get your vote.You cannot trust Labour controlled Manchester.They will say anything and go back on their word.Past experience has proved that.
I see the pro people are changing the rules again,so desperate to please central government they will promise us the moon to get this charge installed.
capped at how much and for how long?.these pro people keep changin the rules.
Bribes come in all shapes and form.
Where are the anti's now?
Capped fares,(bus companies agree) smart/oyster cards, business chrge halved.
No doubt there will be more concessions before the referendum.
You've fought a terrible misleading campaign from the start Peel & Co. It's now time for the residents of Gtr Manchester to vote TIF in and get a worldclass intergrated public transport network.
For business man and women out there who were against TIF.
£5 a day maximum. £25 per week. 40% back via tax = £10. Total payable per week = £15 or £3 per day or £780 per year. Minus savings on petrol nolonger wasted in traffic jams and more business time. Hey presto! Your actually making money and getting £3bill worth of public investment which will deliver a worldclass intergrated transport network.
It really is a no brainer isn't it. Come on you anti's, it really is time to change your minds and vote for TIF.
"Lis Phelan, of the TIF `yes' campaign, said fare-capping was `the news transport users have been waiting for'"
I think the news Transport users have been waiting for is that like Edinburgh, we would get all the money without the charge. We would get investment into roads as well as public transport. That a scheme which costs £318m to set up and 31m a year to run = £1.2bn over 30 years to pay back £1.2bn has been cancelled. That any shortfall in funding would be made up by City Centre Parking Levy's, Asset Sales, futrue fares, Business rate increases.
But No, we get a cap on bus fares and the largest charging scheme in the whole wide world. No wonder United City support it. Because in other cities, they would be contributing out of their future profits, not out of their workforces salary.
20% off for those on minimum wage. So if you earn £5.73 an hour for 35 hours, you will get 20% of the charge and bus fares. Big whoop - especially after you have paid the extra tax that disappeared under the 10% rate. And if you are on £6 an hour - Forget it. Your £210 per week is not worthy of a discount on the £25 you will be paying in charges.
PS did you notice that the YES adverts have changed tack slightly in the papers. They have gone back to -we won't pay the line till five new Metrolink lines are finished (The 5 lines which are being extended under 3a -The ones without a charge)
It looks as though the Toll Tax lot are getting desperate!
The decision to have so many loop holes in who pays for the charge is guaranteeing that there will be substantial fraud. Who will have to make up the short fall?
Who is going to pay for the fare capping? If the income from the congestion charge is reduced because of the change to a £5 maximum rather than £10 and there is going to be a significantly reduced income from bus/tram fares how does it all add up?
Are people really expected to prove that they are on the minimum wage every time they get on the bus?
Here we go, the MCC are now running scared that they will lose the 'YES' vote at the referendum, and now they are promising 'capped' bus fares.
Not a chance this is going to happen......the Con Tax or the Capped fares!
Politicians/Councillors listen to the public; this ludicrous scheme is not wanted, never has been and never will. You WILL be looking for alternative employment if you decide to bring this in.
Be warned!
Oh well its a bit too late for that!
we asked these questions months ago and they wouldnt answer them. then they go and come up with this with one month to go till the vote.
To top it all off now the government has been highlighted that its failed us in every aspect over the last 10 years of being in government on investment in public transport and trying to cut congestion.
this was investment they promised and failed to give us and now they expect us to pay for it twice.
Forget it!
They've failed us in nearly all aspects and need to be throw out of number 10.
Keyword.
"proposals"
Nothing concrete, no signed contracts saying we will, or wont do this.
This is just smoke a mirrors to try and win Decembers referendum.
Why bring this out when the congestion charge has not even been decided.......I think we all know whats coming whether we vote for it or not !!!
Great news! It's a 'YES' vote from me!
What happened to the news story about all the councillors and MP's who oppose the scheme?
It seems to have slipped away!
'But the anti-congestion charge Greater Manchester Momentum Group said the new proposals were not enough.'
The moon on a stick wouldn't be enough for that lot...
Let's have the vote, silence the selfish, introspective 'anti-charge' faction and keep Manchester moving.
I have just looked up Desperate in the dictionary, the new 2008 entry reads:
Greater Manchester Pro Congestion Charger
What scam next to try and get a 'CON' charge rip off tax through the ballot box.
Is this another of 2008's answer to Dr Beeching ...Dr Bernstien.
Never mind capping the fares of what would become yet another c##p service ...what we really need in a cap on the propsed 'CON'.
Scrap it.
Absolutely fantastic news! The fears of many people who broadly supported the proposals were that public transport costs would rise but I think that this announcement assuages those fears and proves that the package as it now stands is fair and balanced and means all residents across Greater Manchester are getting a good deal.
Capped is no good. Fares need to be reduced. Last week, I walked the mile and a half to a supermarket. Because of the start of arthritis and carrying four bags of shopping I decided to catch a bus home. It was six stops and cost me forty bob (£2)I could have caught a tram to town and back for only £2.10. I know which the better value is.
But the other con with fares is the fact that the bus cartels won't cross the city into each other's areas which means that instead of a through ticket it means two separate bus companies and two separate charges.
Public Transport (as well as the utilities) should be renationalised and provide the public service they are meant to.
capped for how long??
and at what rate of increase when they do decide to up the cost of the fares!!
shouldnt there be a drop in fares as an incentive for people to ditch their cars?
Fantastic news that bus fairs would be capped, with transfers included - this is precisely what the bus system in this country is missing.
Smacks of desperation to me. Throw in some carrots a few weeks before the vote to persuade those on the fence.
Not sure how they're going to pay the loan back if they bring the cap back to £5.
What a farce this is becoming. All these proposals for cheap bus tickets for the low paid and disabled and vairous opt outs have the making of a bureaucratic nightmare that will easily consume any revenue fromt the congestion charge, leaving the taxpayers with nothing but hordes of extra public sector staff to pay to administer it all. Ken Livingstone recently said that the London Congestion Charge is not a good way of raising revenue, so the chances of Manchester's one raising enough cash for lots of shiny new buses and trams is negligible.
Just say NO.
For bus fares look no further than Edinburgh. One price all over the city and no change given, and they turned down the con charge. Busses clean and the system works.
this makes the proposals sound better. Manchester has long lagged behind other cities in having co-ordinated and affordable public transport systems. The sooner the proposals come to fruition the better, instead of having thousands of people sitting alone in their metal boxes every day thinking that they aren't part of the problem (and yes, i do use a car for some journeys, a scooter for others, and public transport where it is suitable, before anyone accuses me of being some sort of car-hater)
AGMA are running scared, the campaign is already destined to get a huge NO reponse.
Throwing in some last minute bribery won't help.
The simple fact is 80%+ of people will work or shop elsewhere and it will kill manchester, - there is no way round this.
http://www.maptube.org/map.aspx?s=LBHFOkEoBssqJoZ3wjnBwcCnWMChgd