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Damian James' Blog: 23 May 2008
Date: 23 May 2008
So it seems following the recent local elections that things are not looking good for the further introduction of congestion charging zones particularly in Manchester.
Road charging popularity
So it seems following the recent local elections that things are not looking good for the further introduction of congestion charging zones particularly in Manchester.
The balance of power has changed in Manchester now as the chairman of the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority, who was pro the introduction of a charging zone, has been replaced by an independent candidate from the Community Action Party who is anti the zone.
No doubt one of the main reasons for the change is because the majority of the voting public don't want the zone to be reality.
This happened in a similar way in Edinburgh where the residents voted as to whether to introduce a charging zone. The idea was shelved following the majority not supporting the proposal.
The Government has made funds available as part of its Transport Innovation Fund to authorities. They can bid for a proportion of the money to introduce innovative transport solutions such as charging zones.
However this approach to introduce schemes at a local level has now failed twice due to lack of public support. This suggests to me that a radical rethink is needed if road charging is ever to become a reality.
I guess it's the million dollar question - how do you get the public to support road user charging?
I'm not suggesting that I have all the answers but there certainly appears to be a lack of clarity on exactly what is proposed and by whom.
Perhaps if more information was made available a real debate could begin.
