GMPTAA.G.M.A.
Transport Innovation Fund
 

FAQ

Below are some of the more frequently asked questions about our plans.

If you have a question that isn’t answered here you can ring our free phone number 0800 234 6100.

These questions and answers will be reviewed regularly to reflect the questions the free phone number generates.

  1. When would the investment and charging be introduced?
    The improvements in public transport would begin to be in place from 2010. Almost all of the improvements will be in place by the summer of 2013, the earliest that congestion charging could be introduced.
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  2. How can we be sure that the improvements would be in place before charging is introduced?
    AGMA (the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities) has insisted that at least 80% of transport improvements are in place before congestion charging can be introduced.
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  3. How much congestion would be reduced by the proposals?
    It is estimated that traffic levels would fall immediately by 10-15% from the date when a charge is introduced.
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  4. How many drivers would pay the congestion charge?
    Congestion charging would apply to around 20% of peak-time car journeys in Greater Manchester. That means 80% of journeys would not be affected.
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  5. Would it affect drivers who stay on the M60?
    No. The outer ring of the congestion charge picks up cars coming into Manchester off the M60 in the morning, and going back onto the M60 in the evening. There would be no charge for driving on the M60 itself.
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  6. Would it operate like the London congestion zone?
    No! The Greater Manchester scheme would only operate at peak times and in the direction of congestion - going in the morning peak, coming out in the early evening. So there would be no charge to pay for driving inside the rings themselves - only for crossing a ring at peak-time.
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  7. What is the location of the inner ring to drive in to Greater Manchester?
    Click here to download a pdf of the inner ring

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  8. What will I pay?
    Charging would only apply Monday to Friday to traffic going towards Manchester city centre between 0700-0930 and traffic going away from the city centre between 1600-1830. The average charge at 2013 prices would be less than £3.50 per day.
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  9. What guarantees do we have that the private companies who run our buses will run services in poorer areas?
    The Local Transport Bill, now going through Parliament, gives additional powers to democratically accountable institutions to exercise more influence over the way in which the bus system is regulated. GMPTA is working very productively with bus operators and is confident it will secure the outcomes needed on a voluntary basis. Under the Bus Partnership proposals being developed with operators, a new network of services has been designed that covers all of Greater Manchester. Services will be required to start earlier in the morning and finish later at night.
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  10. Where has this congestion charging idea worked before?
    Greater Manchester’s scheme has been designed for our specific needs, but the most similar scheme in live operation is probably Stockholm’s.  Stockholm’s scheme has seen traffic levels fall by 18%, traffic queues at peak times reduce by 30­50% and a decrease in harmful emissions by 10-14%.
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  11. Will the TIF make public transport safer?
    The key schemes will be designed with safety and security in mind.  For example all new interchanges and station improvements will be designed in consultation with the Police.  They will be well lit environments that people feel safe in.  In addition, the TIF strategy introduces new monitoring across Greater Manchester. CCTV facilities will be improved, rolled out further (including onto new buses) and linked to public address systems at bus and rail stations and interchanges.
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  12. What guarantees are there that the 80% of public transport improvements are in place before the congestion charge commences?
    AGMA Test 1 states that there must be significant investment in public transport improvements so that enhanced capacity is in place prior to the introduction of any congestion charge.  The majority of new services are planned to start operating between October 2012 and July 2013.  A clear timetable is provided in the ‘How’ document section 2, or is available on www.gmfuturetransport.co.uk
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  13. What constitutes the 80% of improvements? Is this defined anywhere?
    The ‘How’ document sets out the planned investment in public transport delivered through TIF.  The delivery programme is currently predicated on delivering the majority of the transport infrastructure improvements by July 2013. Only the Second City Centre Crossing and Trafford Park Metrolink extensions, some of the Outer Area Bus Package schemes, and the Chorlton Street and Parker Street interchanges will not be complete before the charge is introduced in summer 2013. All the proposed transport improvements in the package are scheduled to be completed by 2016.
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Some critics have made a number of inaccurate claims about the TIF bid a few of these are corrected below.

  • “Drivers will face a £7.50 per day charge” – Not true, fewer than 20% of peak time drivers in Greater Manchester will pay any charge at all and the average amount paid by those who chose to drive at peak times will be less than £3 on average (at 2007 prices.) It has also been made proposed full £5 charge for those choosing to drive to and from the city centre at peak times will be no more than £6 when it is introduced in 2013. If a charge were in place today, more drivers would pay £1 per day than would pay £5.
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  • “There is no cap on the charge increasing” – An independent regulator would be appointed to ensure that any future development of charging prices meets the four AGMA tests. These tests insist that any measures must enhance the competitiveness of the city region, genuinely tackle congestion, and must be acceptable to business and the public.
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  • “For the scheme to break even the daily charge would need to be more than £8 per day” – There is no factual evidence for this claim. A great deal of detailed planning and modelling has been done in this area. As stated above, the full £5 charge will be no more than £6 per when introduced in 2013.
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  • “The current investment proposals concentrate on travel into and out of the city centre” – The proposed TIF package will bring benefits to a wide range of communities across Greater Manchester. Metrolink will be extended into Rochdale and Oldham town centres, to Manchester Airport and Ashton-under-Lyne. Funds have also been earmarked to extend the Metrolink line to Trafford Park and the Trafford Centre. This, in addition to confirmed expansion, will provide more than 100km of track across Greater Manchester. The bus network will also be greatly improved throughout Greater Manchester with at least 90 per cent of the public within a five minute walk of a service that Monday to Saturday will run at least every 20 minutes during the daytime and at least every 30 minutes for weekday early mornings, evenings and at Sundays. New direct cross-city bus services will also link towns across Greater Manchester, without the need to change buses in the city centre.
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  • “No detail has been provided of the technology which will support the scheme” – The tag and beacon system proposed has already been proven in a number of different cities around the world including Singapore and Sydney. Tag and beacon has been shown to represent the most cost effective and consumer friendly technological solution available to date.
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You can also write to the GMfuture transport team using this form.


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