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Road Charging Plans to be Shelved?
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MAG LOBBY AGAINST CONGESTION CHARGING
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16 October 2007
National charging plans could become local
Voter backlash could be the cause
DfT says 'no change in policy', though
There are strong indications that the Government may be about to ditch plans for national road charging, according to The Daily Telegraph newspaper.
The Department for Transport (DfT) is expected to announce that it will shelve road-charging plans when it responds to a report from a parliamentary committee into the draft Local Transport Bill later this week.
The bill is intended to encourage councils to introduce schemes to reduce congestion in their areas, including congestion charging.
However, the Telegraph has quoted a section of the DfT's response, which says: 'It is not the department's intention, at this stage, to take the separate powers needed to price the national road network.
'We agree there are congestion problems on parts of the strategic road network, but 88% of congestion is in urban areas. Therefore, it is sensible to prioritise the assessment of road pricing in these areas.'
However, a DfT spokeswoman refuted the claims, saying: 'There is no change in policy.'
She said that the local transport bill is designed only to put powers in place to encourage councils to create anti-congestion plans locally.
'Should a national scheme be warranted, we would need to have new legislation to allow that to happen,' she added.
Voters unhappy
Many motorists are unhappy with plans for road charging. A Downing Street online petition gathered more than 1.8 million names, and the Telegraph has been running a campaign to have the plans ditched.
Local schemes, such as the Government originally wanted, aren't going ahead because of their unpopularity with motorists.
Local authorities already have the powers to introduce road-pricing plans, but aren't using them because they are worried about the backlash from voters, according to Gwyneth Dunwoody, the chair of the Transport Select Committee.
'We have a lack of engagement by local authorities, who have been given extra powers and are not prepared to use them,' she told The Guardian newspaper.
However, Manchester has said that its bid to create a two-zone congestion charge will go ahead anyway. It is the only part of the UK to submit a bid to the Transport Innovation Fund.
'In terms of Manchester's bid, the process has not been affected,' said Roger Jones, chairman of the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority.
Bolton Con - Charge Bell Tolls For Ruth Kelly
Bolton MP and Transport secretary, Ruth Kelly is being accused of keeping quiet about a potential £312 million bill for congestion charging in the town.
A rapid expansion of new congestion taxes in Greater Manchester is being driven by the need to finance the massive £1.8 billion loan application, now on Ruth Kelly's desk. The loan is part of the bid for limited public transport investment. (1)
Charges for driving into Bolton Town centre will follow shortly after the introduction of congestion taxes on roads into Manchester city centre.
The Executive minutes Manchester Council 25 July 2007 - Proposed Greater Manchester TIF Bid (5)
The bid now being proposed is in two parts. The first part focuses on a well defined phase 1 investment and charging package. The final decisions on this phase would be followed by further detailed work at least 12 months later. The second part would identify further investment and links to potential expansions of the charging regime beyond phase 1. This would require more work on investment and charging business cases and would potentially be on track some 12 months behind the first phase.
The latest assessment from MART shows that over the 30 years of the loan, Bolton motorists will pay £312 million in charges to drive into the town centre(2). This is in addition to the hundreds of Bolton drivers who will be taxed more than a £1000 a year to drive into Manchester city centre.
MART co-ordinator Sean Corker said: "Ruth Kelly has made no attempt to justify the importance of the transport bid and its effect on her constituents and the town as a whole. Yet if she gives the plans the go ahead, Bolton voters will be paying the price for 10 years of government policy and the radical expansionist plans of Manchester City Council. This is despite the fact that traffic levels have actually fallen in the town by nearly 7 per cent since 2001."(3)
More than 8300 vehicles travel into Bolton Town centre during the peak period, part of the 59000 that use all the Greater Manchester outer towns that will raise £2.65 billion over 30 years.
Sean Corker added:
"While London's transport infrastructure is lavished with billions of pounds of the country's motoring taxes, Ruth Kelly's own constituents will soon be told to pay up to £100 a month for 30 years or more to drive into their own town centre to pay for little more then a new bus station."
Notes
(1) GMTU reports - approx 99000 chargeable vehicles cross M60 each day in Morning Peak AM 99000 x £3 x 5 days x 50 weeks = £74.25 million + £43.4 million from inner Manchester Cordon = £117.25 million total revenue before costs for both current cordons proposals.
This will not cover the loan repayments of £1.8 billion loan at 6% over 30 years = £129.5 million per year at today's prices. The other towns of greater Manchester will have to be tolled to finance the loan.
(2) 8322 Chargeable vehicles enter Bolton town centre during the AM Peak. At £5 per day, this gives an approximate revenue of £312 million over 30 years at today's prices.
(3) Greater Manchester Traffic Unit report 1290 http://www.gmtu.gov.uk/reports/transport2006.htm
http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1021275_mps_angry_over_london_bias
Contact: Sean Corker 0773 683 6163 www.manchestertolltax.com
MAG LOBBY AGAINST CONGESTION CHARGING HERE
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