THE consultation into the proposed congestion charge has received more ‘negative’ responses than ‘positive’ – sparking a row over the figures.
Survey firm Ipsos MORI went through 81,000 responses from the public – 25,813 could be described as negative and 14,675 as positive.
However, they stressed: “Some respondents had a positive or negative attitude to at least one of the elements of the package, not necessarily that they had a positive or negative attitude to the package as a whole.” For example, criticisms of the existing public transport system would be classed as a negative response.
Stop The Bid campaigners say the figures are a ‘clear rejection’ of congestion charging.
But the ‘yes’ campaign welcomed them, saying people who oppose the proposal are four times more likely to respond to the consultation.
The bid would see more than £2.75bn invested in transport - from the Government’s Transport Innovation Fund (TIF) - 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.
A spokeswoman for the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive - which carried out the consultation - stressed the reponses did not reflect the level of support for the overall package. She said: “The information recently issued on the public consultation is not an opinion poll and it is not representative of district views on the TIF proposals.”
A spokesman for the ‘yes’ campaign said: “We know from experience of other consultations and other referendums that those who oppose the proposition are four times more likely to be engaged in the consultation than those who support it.
“MORI polling suggests support for the transport package is now pushing 55 per cent, and our private polling shows we have a clear majority in eight out of 10 boroughs."A Stop the Charge coalition spokesman said: “In a region where the average net wage is less than £14,000 a year, it’s no surprise that hard working families strongly reject paying more than a month’s salary on what is little more than a new tax.
“Most significantly, the consultation shows those who know the roads best, drivers who cross the charging zones five days a week, say traffic is just not bad enough to warrant a congestion charge.
In a boost for the bid, the Road Hauliers’ Association has said it will withdraw its objection if HGVs are excluded from congestion charging, as proposed in the latest papers from the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities.

Congestion charge interactive timeline

TIF documents released under the Freedom of Information Act