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Two thirds are against congestion charging

Alan Salter
21/ 3/2007

CONGESTION charging is rejected by almost two out of every three people in Greater Manchester, an exclusive poll reveals today.

The biggest ever study of public opinion on "pay as you drive" comes after plans to charge motorists on and around 15 of the most busiest corridors into the city were announced earlier this year.

Transport chiefs say such a scheme will help them tap into government cash to pay for improvements to public transport including the expansion of Metrolink to Oldham and Rochdale, the Airport and Ashton under Lyne.

Our sister title the Manchester Evening News commissioned an independent survey to find out what people feel about congestion charging and discovered that 64 per cent of people think charging is a bad idea.

But, 59 per cent thought that paying to drive WAS a price worth paying if it paid for improvements to trams, trains and buses. Any 39 per cent said congestion charging WOULD change the way they travel.

Our survey carried out by pollsters CBA Marketing Research considered the opinions of a sample of one thousand people across all the districts of Greater Manchester as well as Macclesfield and Wilmslow. A carefully balanced profile of men and woman of different age groups who travelled by various means of transport were consulted.

Worryingly for city leaders, half of all people said they would be put off travelling into Manchester city centre for shopping and entertainment and almost a third would not want to come in for work.

But that could be good news for towns around the centre because more than half (54 per cent), said they would spend more time and money where they live if congestion charging was introduced.

Almost half of all motorists, however, stubbornly say they would pay any amount of congestion charge rather than switch to public transport.

That may be because there is not much faith in public transport. Although those who use buses trams and trains believe theirs is a good way to travel, two thirds of them do not believe that public transport can cope with the increased demand which would be caused by congestion charging. Less than a quarter (24 per cent) of drivers think public transport will be a viable alternative within the next 10 years.

At the same time 52 per cent of people said it was a price worth paying if it meant environmental improvements.

There were other positive results such as almost three quarters of public transport users surveyed think it is cheap, clean, and safe.

Experts are currently drawing up detailed plans to introduce the congestion charging which would form part of a bid to the government for £1bn from the Transport Innovation Fund for public transport improvements, including the completion of Metrolink extensions. check JULY?? The proposals are supervised by the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA) which represents each of the ten districts of the county.

When the plans were announced in January local political leaders said that jammed roads could cost Greater Manchester 30,000 jobs over the next 15 years. But our survey showed that large numbers of people do not believe there is a need to do anything with just two thirds (64 per cent) agreeing that congestion is a serious problem.

Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority chairman Coun Roger Jones, who is one of the leaders of the bid, said: "I welcome this contribution to debate and I am encouraged nearly two-thirds of those polled believe that congestion charge is a price worth paying in order to secure £1bn of government cash to improve our public transport network.

"The survey reveals that people feel that the current transport infrastructure needs to be addressed, a view I firmly believe in if we are to ensure that Manchester is to continue its economic growth and reduce its carbon footprint.

"A vast improvement in our existing public transport network is a prerequisite before any form of road pricing is introduced to the region's drivers.

"I think it is very encouraging that six out of 10 people believe it is a price worth for public transport improvements before we have even been able to tell them what they are. I believe even more will support it when we can tell them the details."

He added: "In a few short years time, if nothing is done, the problems will be a lot worse."

But Blackley MP Graham Stringer, a member of the Commons Transport Committee, called for the congestion charging plan to be abandoned. He said: "People started out against it because they see it as an extra tax - and the more they find out, the tougher their feelings get.

"AGMA says there has to be public acceptance … well here is their answer.

"It does not surprise me at all. It just shows that the whole basis of the councils' thinking is false. They assume that people want to avoid spending the extra time on the road but all that happens is that they get up 10 minutes earlier.

"The whole idea is based on a completely false premise. It is the craziest most damaging proposal I have seen in my time in politics.

"You could have a really good public transport system in four or five years if you were willing to spend the right amount of money. As for congestion charging, they should abandon it."

Some experts warn that the more details of plans which emerge are likely to turn people against the idea.

Edmund King, executive director of the RAC Foundation who has been studying the concept of congestion charging for several years said: "You do find that support for schemes starts to drop off, the closer they get to becoming a reality. When we first asked nationally in 2002, just over 70 per cent said they were in favour but when we asked again in 2005, the support had reduced dramatically."

As well as a measure of public attitude towards road pricing, our survey also gives a fascinating insight into Greater Manchester on the move. Six out of ten people drive and a third use public transport. Almost 70 per cent of men drive to get around Greater Manchester compared to just over half of women, who greatly outnumber men on public transport.

The Bury, Bolton, and Prestwich area has the most drivers and Tameside people are the biggest users of public transport.

And among public transport users, the train was the most popular mode with 44 per cent, rising to a massive 78 per cent in Macclesfield and Wilmslow but just six per cent in Trafford and 11 per cent in Manchester.

Buses followed with 36 per cent of all public transport users and Manchester and Salford are the areas of heaviest use. Trams were obviously most popular in Bury, Manchester, Salford, and Trafford which all have Metrolink lines.

More people travel around Greater Manchester for shopping than they do for work and 44 per cent hit the roads every day.

Greater Manchester's plans may seem rushed to some, but environment campaigners are demanding even quicker progress. Tony Bosworth, Friends of the Earth's senior transport campaigner, said: "We cannot wait for the planned introduction of national road pricing in a decade before we give people better alternatives to car use.

"The government must make the case for road pricing's role in tackling congestion and climate change. Without road-pricing traffic levels will rise, congestion will get worse, and transport's contribution to climate change will continue to grow."

He added: "Opponents of road pricing should explain what they would do instead."

Click on the links below to see breakdowns of the results by area, Channel M's video report, and more on the main findings

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