The Future of Transport in Greater Manchester
In June, the Government announced that the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA)'s bid to the Transport Innovation Fund (TIF) for funding to deliver a £3 billion package of measures to reduce congestion, including wide-ranging improvements to public transport and the introduction of a congestion charging scheme, was successful.
What is being proposed?
The Transport Innovation Fund (TIF) is a pot of money that the Government is offering to councils to help tackle congestion. The Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA) submitted a TIF bid for a £3 billion package of transport investment, including:
An extension
of the Metrolink to the airport, Didsbury, Ashton, Oldham & Rochdale
town centres and Trafford Park, with a second city centre crossing
and additional trams;
Major improvements
to the bus system, including more buses, extra routes, segregated busways
from Bolton and Leigh to Manchester and along the Oxford Road corridor,
and an extension of the Yellow School Bus scheme;
Additional
trains, platform extensions and other station improvements to provide
extra capacity on the railways at peak times;
Improvements
to public transport interchanges at Altrincham, Bolton, Manchester
Victoria, Rochdale, Stockport & Wigan, and a range of
other measures including integrated ticketing and real-time passenger
information;
A doubling
of the number of park & ride spaces, particularly at
Metrolink and rail stations, and at key points around the M60;
Completion
of the Ashton Northern Bypass and Wigan Inner Relief Road;
The introduction
of a limited congestion charging scheme at peak times from summer
2013, subject to the public transport improvements being in place.
How will congestion charging work?
The current proposal for the congestion charging scheme is to have two rings: an outer ring at the M60 and an inner ring closer to the city centre. Between 7am and 9.30am, it will cost £2 to cross the outer ring and £1 to cross the inner ring towards Manchester, and between 4pm and 6.30pm, it will cost £1 to cross the inner ring and £1 to cross the outer ring away from Manchester.
A number of details of the scheme are yet to be finalised, such as where the inner ring will be, and whether there will be discounts or exemptions for certain groups, such as low-waged or disabled people, and for certain types of vehicle, such as motorcycles and low-emission cars.
For more information on the proposals, and to submit your feedback, visit the GM Future Transport website.
What happens next?
The Government has awarded £1.5 billion of funding towards the proposals, which is £300 million more than AGMA originally asked for. There will now be a 3-month consultation until 10 October on the details of the individual schemes before a referendum on whether to go ahead with the proposals, likely to be in December.
What does Manchester FOE think?
We support the TIF bid in principle, on the grounds that the combination of public transport investment and congestion charging has the potential to cut congestion, deliver a decent public transport system for everyone (and in particular for those who can't afford to own a car), and reduce the contribution of transport to air pollution and climate change (the effects of which are invariably felt most by the young, the elderly and the least well-off).
However, we believe that there should be a greater focus on environmentally friendly measures such as a safe and comprehensive cycle path network, safe priority routes for all pedestrians and low-emission vehicle priority schemes. We also propose that the congestion charging scheme should take vehicle emissions into account, with low-emission vehicles paying less and high-emission vehicles such as 4x4s paying more, and that there should discounts or exemptions for those who have no choice but to drive, such as the disabled.
We are members the Clean Air Now! coalition, and endorse its manifesto for clean air, safer streets and a better quality of life in Greater Manchester.