Greater Manchester unveils road pricing scheme
May 26th, 2007The Association of Greater Manchester Authorities have proposed a road pricing scheme that will see motorists charged for travelling on the busiest roads at peak times.
Under the scheme, which could be introduced by 2012, motorists would be charged £2 to enter the area enclosed by the M60, and a further £1 to enter Manchester city centre. £1 would be charged on leaving each of the zones. The charges would apply on weekdays between 7 – 9.30 am and 4 – 6.30 pm.
All the money raised would be used to fund £3 billion of improvements to the region’s public transport system. This would include new Metrolink lines to the Trafford Centre and Stockport, a dedicated bus lane between Manchester and Bolton, and improvements to bus and rail interchanges in Altrincham, Bolton, Manchester, Rochdale, and Wigan.
June 18th, 2007 at 11:27 am
This scheme is ludicrous. The results will make the poll tax demonstrations look like a picnic in the park. The proposed investment isn’t great enough to make sufficient improvements to public transport.
One of the obvious problems ofthe scheme is that many people no longer live anywhere near a a bus stope or train station even if they want to travel by public transport. Many will be forced into taking 2 or 3 bus and rail journeys or be forced to meet the new charges.If Richard Lees wants his extra cash the why not operate a more simple system like Londons scheme.
Leigh is one area that will be particularly badly hit. It is one of the few towns without a rail station and yet their are no plans for a metrolink. Buses into Manchester only run from a few main arteries. Many Leigh residents would need to walk for 40 minutes to even get to the bus.
I could only see this working if their are huge car parks just outside the charging zone operating park and ride - however I see no mention of park and ride schemes.