Congestion charging in Greater Manchester

The Greater Manchester congestion charge was part of a bid to the Government's Transport Innovation Fund for a £

Pound sterling

The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...

3-billion package of transport funding and the introduction of a road congestion charge

Congestion pricing

Congestion pricing or congestion charges is a system of surcharging users of a transport network in periods of peak demand to reduce traffic congestion. Examples include some toll-like road pricing fees, and higher peak charges for utilities, public transport and slots in canals and airports...

for Greater Manchester

Greater Manchester

Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...

, a metropolitan county

Metropolitan county

The metropolitan counties are a type of county-level administrative division of England. There are six metropolitan counties, which each cover large urban areas, typically with populations of 1.2 to 2.8 million...

in North West England

North West England

North West England, informally known as The North West, is one of the nine official regions of England.North West England had a 2006 estimated population of 6,853,201 the third most populated region after London and the South East...

. In 2008, two cordons were proposed—the outer encircling the main urban core of the Greater Manchester Urban Area

Greater Manchester Urban Area

The Greater Manchester Urban Area is an area of land defined by the Office for National Statistics consisting of the large conurbation that encompasses the city of Manchester and the continuous metropolitan area that spreads outwards from it, forming much of Greater Manchester in North West England...

and the inner covered Manchester city centre

Manchester City Centre

Manchester city centre is the central business district of Manchester, England. It lies within the Manchester Inner Ring Road, next to the River Irwell...

. The Greater Manchester Transport Innovation Fund was rejected by a referendum on 12 December 2008.

The proposed charge was to help pay for improvements in public transport, with £3 billion in the form of a grant and loan, in particular for the Manchester Metrolink

Manchester Metrolink

Metrolink is a light rail system in Greater Manchester, England. It consists of four lines which converge in Manchester city centre and terminate in Bury, Altrincham, Eccles and Chorlton-cum-Hardy. The system is owned by Transport for Greater Manchester and operated under contract by RATP Group...

expansion, and to reduce congestion in Greater Manchester.

Proposed charge

The proposal was part of a bid to the Government's Transport Innovation Fund (TIF)

Transport Innovation Fund (TIF)

The Transport Innovation Fund was a transport funding mechanism in England, that has been replaced by the Urban Challenge Fund in March 2010. Its creation was announced by Her Majesty's Government in the July 2004 White Paper, ’The Future of Transport’...

for a £

Pound sterling

2.7 billion package of transport funding and the introduction of a road congestion charging

Congestion pricing

system. A key aspect of the proposed Manchester Congestion Charge was the setting up of the system, which will be paid for (£318 million) with part of the £2.7bn fund from the TIF. £1.151bn of this would have been in the form of a loan which the revenue from the charging scheme will be used to pay back over a 30-year period.

It was proposed that vehicles entering the area bounded by the M60 motorway

M60 motorway

The M60 motorway, or Manchester Orbital, is an orbital motorway circling Greater Manchester, a metropolitan county in North West England. It passes through all Greater Manchester's metropolitan boroughs except for Wigan and Bolton...

would have been charged £2.00 in the morning peak, with a further £1.00 for those entering the inner cordon, roughly corresponding to the Manchester Inner Ring Road

Manchester Inner Ring Road

Manchester and Salford Inner Relief Route is a Ring Road in Greater Manchester, England. It is the product of the amalgamation of several major roads around the city centres of Manchester and Salford to form a ring...

. In the evening, a further £1.00 would have be charged on exit of each cordon. The figures quoted by AGMA and GMPTE are at 2007 prices. By 2013 AGMA estimated that the cost of crossing both cordons at charging times would be £6 http://www.gmfuturetransport.co.uk/pdf/15-TIF%20Funding%20and%20Finance%20Strategy.pdf

The area covered by the charge would have covered about 80 square miles (207.2 km²). http://www.gmfuturetransport.co.uk/pdf/12-TIF%20Package%20Proposed%20Amendments%20Appendix%201.pdf

The original zone covered by the London Congestion Charge

London congestion charge

The London congestion charge is a fee charged for some categories of motor vehicle to travel at certain times within the Congestion Charge Zone , a traffic area in London. The charge aims to reduce congestion, and raise investment funds for London's transport system...

was about eight square miles, Singapore two square miles and Stockholm 18 square miles,http://www.strc.ch/pdf_2007/algers_presn.pdf but the scheme differed from London in that charges would have been lower and the charging hours much shorter. Inbound charges would have applied between 7:00 am and 9:30 am, outbound ones between 4:00 pm and 6:30 pm. There would have been no charge during the middle of the day, later in the evening or at the weekend, nor for journeys against the peak flow—i.e. to leave the city in the morning or to enter it in the evening.

Payment of the charge would be via a pre-pay "tag and beacon" system. Credit would automatically be deducted from a driver's account as they passed each of the cordons. Occasional visitors to Manchester without a pre-pay tag would be able to pay via call centre or internet, although there would be a surcharge for this. The scheme was planned to be up and running by the summer of 2013, after the 80% of the public transport improvements were complete.

Motorcycles, black taxis and private hire cars would not have to pay the charge. It was proposed that the Manchester scheme would charge motorcycles at a lower rate than cars, as they do not contribute to congestion to the same extent as cars but this was later dropped.

Proposed public transport improvements

A number of specific projects would be funded from the scheme, including extensions of the Manchester Metrolink

Manchester Metrolink

to Oldham

Oldham

Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amid the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers Irk and Medlock, south-southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of the city of Manchester...

town centre, Rochdale

Rochdale

Rochdale is a large market town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the foothills of the Pennines on the River Roch, north-northwest of Oldham, and north-northeast of the city of Manchester. Rochdale is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan...

town centre, East Didsbury, Ashton-under-Lyne

Ashton-under-Lyne

Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. Historically a part of Lancashire, it lies on the north bank of the River Tame, on undulating land at the foothills of the Pennines...

, the Trafford Centre

Trafford Centre

The Trafford Centre is a large indoor shopping centre and leisure complex situated in the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford in Greater Manchester, close to the Trafford Park industrial estate and approximately 5 miles from Manchester city centre. It is the highest valued shopping centre in the...

and Manchester Airport. A second line through the city centre would also be built. In total, 35 kilometres (21.7 mi) of new lines were planned. A Bus Rapid Transit

Bus rapid transit

Bus rapid transit is a term applied to a variety of public transportation systems using buses to provide faster, more efficient service than an ordinary bus line. Often this is achieved by making improvements to existing infrastructure, vehicles and scheduling...

system was proposed along the Oxford Road corridor and between the city centre and Bolton

Bolton

Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...

and Leigh

Leigh, Greater Manchester

Leigh is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. It is southeast of Wigan, and west of Manchester. Leigh is situated on low lying land to the north west of Chat Moss....

. A fleet of American-style yellow school buses were mooted. More than 30 rail stations would be upgraded, in addition to extra carriages for the busiest rail services. GMPTE also planned to introduce a smartcard ticketing system, similar to London's Oyster Card

Oyster card

The Oyster card is a form of electronic ticketing used on public transport services within the Greater London area of the United Kingdom. It is promoted by Transport for London and is valid on a number of different travel systems across London including London Underground, buses, the Docklands...

. Eight new transport interchanges were to be built across Greater Manchester

Greater Manchester

. The government claimed that most, if not all, of these improvements were to be in place before the congestion charge was imposed.

Government financial support

In a speech to the House of Commons on Monday 9 June 2008, Minister for Transport Ruth Kelly

Ruth Kelly

Ruth Maria Kelly is a British Labour Party politician of Irish descent who was the Member of Parliament for Bolton West from 1997 until she stood down in 2010...

gave Manchester's TIF bid the government's approval. She announced that the DfT would be giving Manchester £1.441 billion, £300 million more than AGMA had requested.

Public

A group of over 160 businesses called United City

United City

United City is a group of businesses based within Greater Manchester, England, who supported proposals for congestion charging in Greater Manchester via the Greater Manchester Transport Innovation Fund bid for £3 billion. The bid was rejected by a referendum on 12 December 2008...

that are based in Manchester have given their full support for the Transport Innovation Fund (TIF)

Transport Innovation Fund (TIF)

bid.

A group of over 279 businesses called the Greater Manchester Momentum Group opposed the plans as currently drawn. http://www.gmmgroup.co.uk/index.php?id=53

On 24 October the Stop the Charge Coalition was formed, comprising a cross party alliance of seven local MPs and the leaders of the three councils opposed to the plans.

The Manchester Evening News newspaper conducted a telephone survey to gauge public support for a congestion charging scheme. The survey posed several questions, two of which directly asked if respondents were in favour of congestion charging. The results were mixed, with around two thirds of respondents thinking that congestion charging was not "a good idea" but a slim majority in favour of congestion charging in Manchester as part of the proposed public transport improvement scheme in Manchester's Transport Innovation Fund bid.

"Do you think congestion charging is a good idea": Yes – 36%; No – 64% out of 100 votes

"Is congestion charging a price worth paying to get £3bn Government cash to improve public transport in the region – including the expansion of the Metrolink to Ashton-under-Lyne, Oldham and Rochdale, as well as South Manchester and Manchester Airport?": Yes – 55%; No – 44%

A "Green Survey" conducted by the same news paper month later shows that two thirds of the region back the congestion charge.

One side is headed by a coalition of campaign groups known as Clean Air Now (CAN), while the other side is headed by campaign group known as Manchester Against Road Tolls (MART).

MART stated that it did not believe the public was consulted properly and that the information provided by supporters of the charge was biased and insufficient. MART started a legal petition calling for a referendum on a directly elected mayor who would lead Bury council

Metropolitan Borough of Bury

The Metropolitan Borough of Bury is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in North West England. Lying to the north of the City of Manchester, the borough is composed of six towns: Bury, Ramsbottom, Tottington, Radcliffe, Whitefield and Prestwich, and has a population of 181,900...

and be able to withdraw Bury's support from the scheme. This required 7,099 people or 5% of the Bury electorate to sign the petition. Some councillors for Bury have called for a referendum directly on the congestion charge. MART has launched similar petitions in the other seven districts of Greater Manchester that support the TiF bid.

MART has established a branch in Tameside after gauging the level of opposition to the scheme in the area through the online petition.

In July 2008, the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities agreed unanimously to the proposed Transport Improvements, in conjunction with a Congestion Charge, to be submitted to a referendum of the residents of Greater Manchester; the vote itself to be managed by the Electoral Reform Society

Electoral Reform Society

The Electoral Reform Society is a political pressure group based in the United Kingdom which promotes electoral reform. It is believed to be the oldest organisation concerned with electoral systems in the world.-Aims:...

. Only if there is a majority in favour of the proposals in seven out of the ten boroughs, would the proposals go forwards.

Political

The proposals were voted on at a meeting of the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities on 27 July 2007 in Dukinfield

Dukinfield

Dukinfield is a small town within the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies in central Tameside on the south bank of the River Tame, opposite Ashton-under-Lyne, and is east of the city of Manchester...

, Tameside

Tameside

The Metropolitan Borough of Tameside is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in North West England. It is named after the River Tame which flows through the borough and spans the towns of Ashton-under-Lyne, Audenshaw, Denton, Droylsden, Dukinfield, Hyde, Mossley and Stalybridge. Its western...

.

AGMA took only 45 minutes to vote to proceed with the TIF proposals by eight votes to two, with Stockport and Trafford borough councils the only opponents. Before the meeting, Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council

Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council

Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council is the local authority for the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. The council is currently in no overall control since the 2011 local elections when the Liberal Democrats lost their majority. The Liberal Democrats now have 31...

and Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council had held their own consultations to gauge public support. After the Stockport

Stockport

Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on elevated ground southeast of Manchester city centre, at the point where the rivers Goyt and Tame join and create the River Mersey. Stockport is the largest settlement in the metropolitan borough of the same name...

survey found that 67% of residents and 78% of businesses in the borough did not support the proposed road charges it announced on 26 July 2007 that it would be voting no at the meeting of AGMA the following day. Trafford announced on 23 July 2007 that it would vote against the congestion charging proposals. On the 12 December 2007, Bury Metropolitan Borough Council voted to withdraw its support for the congestion charge, bringing the numbers to seven for, three against. In January 2008 seven of the local authorities in Greater Manchester support the scheme. Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council is planning to hold a vote on whether to continue their support for the plans.

Labour

Labour Party (UK)

The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...

is strongly in favour of the congestion charge having proposed the idea through the Labour controlled GMPTE. It has faced a mixed reaction from the Liberal Democrats

Liberal Democrats

The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...

with Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council (which is controlled by the Liberal Democrats) rejecting the Manchester Congestion Charge, yet many Manchester City Liberal Democrats have spoken out as being in favour of the congestion charge and Liberal Democrat controlled Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council voted in favour. The only party to reject the congestion charge is the Conservatives

Conservative Party (UK)

The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

who control Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council.

In the United Kingdom local elections, 2008

United Kingdom local elections, 2008

The 2008 United Kingdom local elections were held on 1 May 2008. These elections took place in 137 English Local Authorities and all Welsh Councils....

Roger Jones, the Labour chairman of the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive

Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive

Transport for Greater Manchester is the public body responsible for co-ordinating public transport services throughout Greater Manchester, in North West England. The organisation traces its origins to the Transport Act 1968, when the SELNEC Passenger Transport Executive was established to...

, was pushed into third place in Irlam

Irlam

Irlam is a suburban town and unparished area within the City of Salford in Greater Manchester, England. At the 2001 census it had a population of 18,504. The town lies on flat ground on the south side of the M62 motorway and the north bank of the Manchester Ship Canal, and is west-southwest of...

, Salford. His seat was won by the Community Action Party

Community Action Party

The Community Action Party is a minor political party in the United Kingdom, mostly active in Greater Manchester and Merseyside. It advocates free health care and education provision, a managed public transport infrastructure free to all at the point of use and a moratorium on the use of green belt...

, which ran a campaign based on opposition to the £5 daily peak period congestion charge that was proposed by Jones.

Regional Ballot Results

In a public referendum

Referendum

A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...

the results were split down through each of the 10 local councils involved. The referendum needed to gain the support of 8 council areas to be passed. In the end, each of the local areas rejected the proposals by large majorities.

Votes in response to the Manchester Congestion Charge Referendum
Region	Turnout (%)	Yes	No	Yes (%)	No (%)
Bolton Metropolitan Borough of Bolton The Metropolitan Borough of Bolton is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It is named after its largest settlement, Bolton, but covers a far larger area which includes Blackrod, Farnworth, Horwich, Kearsley and Westhoughton, and a suburban and rural element from the West Pennine...	48.8	20,529	79,910	21	79
Bury Metropolitan Borough of Bury The Metropolitan Borough of Bury is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in North West England. Lying to the north of the City of Manchester, the borough is composed of six towns: Bury, Ramsbottom, Tottington, Radcliffe, Whitefield and Prestwich, and has a population of 181,900...	57.4	16,563	64,001	21	79
Rochdale Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale The Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in North West England. It is named after its largest town, Rochdale, but spans a far larger area which includes the towns of Middleton, Heywood, Littleborough and Milnrow, and the village of Wardle.The borough was...	50.8	17,333	68,884	20	80
Oldham Metropolitan Borough of Oldham The Metropolitan Borough of Oldham is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It has a population of 219,600, and spans . The borough is named after its largest town, Oldham, but also includes the outlying towns of Chadderton, Failsworth, Royton and Shaw and Crompton, the village of...	54.4	17,571	68,884	20	80
Wigan Metropolitan Borough of Wigan The Metropolitan Borough of Wigan is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in North West England. It is named after its largest component town, Wigan and also includes the towns of Leigh, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Ince-in-Makerfield, and Hindley. The borough was formed in 1974 and is an...	45.3	27,810	78,565	26	74
Salford City of Salford The City of Salford is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It is named after its largest settlement, Salford, but covers a far larger area which includes the towns of Eccles, Swinton-Pendlebury, Walkden and Irlam which apart from Irlam each have a population of over...	57.0	14,603	79,326	16	84
Manchester Manchester Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...	46.1	43,593	113,064	28	72
Tameside Tameside The Metropolitan Borough of Tameside is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in North West England. It is named after the River Tame which flows through the borough and spans the towns of Ashton-under-Lyne, Audenshaw, Denton, Droylsden, Dukinfield, Hyde, Mossley and Stalybridge. Its western...	60.7	16,323	83,105	17	83
Trafford Trafford The Metropolitan Borough of Trafford is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It has a population of 211,800, covers , and includes the towns of Altrincham, Partington, Sale, Stretford, and Urmston...	63.6	20,445	83,568	20	80
Stockport Metropolitan Borough of Stockport The Metropolitan Borough of Stockport is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in north west England, centred around the town of Stockport. It has a population of about 280,600 and includes the outyling areas of Cheadle and Cheadle Hulme, Marple, Bredbury, Reddish and Romiley...	59.0	24,090	103,706	19	81
TOTAL	53.2	218,860	812,815	21.2	78.8
Source: Manchester Evening News C-Charge Results

As a result of this public response, the Congestion Charge proposal for Manchester was dropped.

External links

The congestion charge in context with the wider improvements proposed as part of the TIF bid.
Clean Air Now (CAN) - coalition of independent campaign groups in favour of the proposed congestion charge.
Manchester Against Road Tolls - Leading the fight against the proposed congestion charge.
Greater Manchester Momentum Group - Business alliance who is against the current TIF proposal.
National Alliance Against Tolls - Manchester Information etc., from those campaigning against the plans.
United City - A group of major businesses supporting the TIF bid.

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