News Releases
Friday, 27 July 2007The future of transport in Greater Manchester
The Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA) has agreed to submit a bid to the Government's Transport Innovation Fund (TIF) for a £3bn package of transport funding and the introduction of a road congestion charging system.
The extra investment would lead to a public transport revolution in Greater Manchester, including the delivery of a radically expanded Metrolink network, longer trains on many of the conurbation's rail lines and more frequent, high quality bus services. Additional transport schemes, such as Park and Ride and Yellow School Bus services, would also be included in the biggest and most far-reaching transport investment programme outside London, alongside measures to ensure effective integration across all transport services.
The agreed bid would also involve the introduction of a locally designed congestion charging system to target future congestion problems where they will have maximum impact of the economy and environment, with all charging revenues being retained for funding public transport improvements in Greater Manchester.
The investment in new capacity has been demonstrated to be vital in meeting future demand from commuters attracted to the booming Greater Manchester economy. In addition, by encouraging more people to make journeys by public transport, cycling or walking, the changes would also help tackle climate change by cutting carbon emissions and improve air quality by reducing pollution.
The report considered by the AGMA Executive today confirmed that the Independent Panel of local business representatives and economists, who have been scrutinising the bid development process since October 2006, have been satisfied that the four stringent tests set by AGMA for a suitable TIF bid had been met sufficiently to allow the bid to be submitted. In reaching their conclusion, the Panel found that:
- the proposed governance, delivery and risk management arrangements provide confidence that 80% of the investment programme will be in place before the initial phased introduction of the proposed charging scheme, and that 100% of improvements will be completed over the subsequent two-year period;
- the proposed package will support competitiveness and address social inclusion across Greater Manchester;
- whilst recognising the need to further raise awareness of the benefits of the specific package proposals across the local business community, and with the proviso that full detailed consultation will follow prior to any final point of commitment being reached, the proposal to submit the bid is acceptable both to the public and the business community; and
- the proposed charging scheme effectively targets those areas where congestion is most pressing, and that it would be easy to use and cost effective to implement.
The conclusion on the acceptability test was arrived at after an extensive engagement exercise with the Greater Manchester public and local business. AGMA leaders studied polls carried out by GfK NOP, which set out to determine the views of residents and businesses on whether the TIF package is acceptable, and the findings of further GfK NOP focus groups of residents, business groups and young people.
Results from GfK NOP poll of 5,000 Greater Manchester residents showed that:
- 90% of those polled considered congestion to be a problem, with 43% considering it a serious problem;
- 57% agreed with the principle of the package, and 32% disagreed;
- when given details of the peaktime weekday congestion charge, 53% agreed with the proposal and 40% disagreed; and
- when asked about the principle of submitting a bid, 68% agreed and 24% disagreed.
Among the 1,000 businesses polled:
- 47% agreed with the principle of the package and 38% disagreed;
- when given detail of the congestion charge, 41% agreed and 50% disagreed; and
- when asked about the principle of submitting a bid, 60% agreed and 31% disagreed.
At all three focus groups, the report shows that views on the TIF proposals became increasingly favourable as the participants' knowledge about the proposals increased.
The report also provided an analysis of all the feedback received from 25th May - 13th July through the GM Future Transport website, letters, emails, comment cards from the yellow bus tour, stakeholder engagement events and petitions that have been submitted. This feedback has been analysed and logged by project officers and will now inform further detailed development work.
In refining the bid proposals on the basis of consultation feedback, it was agreed that the package should also encompass: an assessment of the Stockport town centre accessability scheme; further analysis of the SEMMMS proposals; a study of the Bromley Cross rail station in Bolton and its parking provision; consideration of the Barton Gyratory bus priority scheme and any residual funding required for the Park Road Junction scheme in Trafford; development of rail links between Ramsbottom and Bury; the inclusion of a Metrolink station at the new Kingsway business park in Rochdale; and a significant enhancement of the yellow school bus and park and ride proposals.
It was also agreed that the timing of the evening charging period (currently 4.00 to 6.30pm) would be reviewed to reflect the feedback received on this element of the proposals.
Sir Richard Leese, Deputy Leader of AGMA, said: "The current debate about the future of transport in Greater Manchester is rightly intense. No-one has suggested however that do-nothing is an option. The overwhelming majority of businesses and the general public see rising congestion as one of the biggest threats to our future prosperity. If we don't tackle effectively rising congestion our growth path will be affected: business costs will continue to rise, labour markets will shrink and some 30,000 jobs will be lost to the area.
"We are all agreed that investment must come first, before any congestion charging, which in any event would only apply in the working week at peak periods. This is the key to giving choices so that the travelling public can enjoy realistic alternatives of reliable, high quality public transport including the renewal and expansion of Metrolink. And this is the prime pre-requisite in our bid.
"No-one thought that bidding for TIF would be universally popular. However, this way forward does command the strongest level of support amongst businesses and the general public. The independent surveys undertaken by NOP show decisive support for a TIF bid being made and our approach with road pricing linked to significant transport investment and improvements.
"We realise that there is much still to do to ensure our approach commands even wider support. We have agreed that we will intensify our awareness activities and we can look forward to this with confidence: the surveys show that the more people understand the complexity of the issues, and the challenges we face, the more they support the direction we are promoting."
Councillor Roger Jones, Chair of the GMPTA, said: "Our bid makes its clear that any charging scheme would not be introduced on roads until those affected have a reliable, integrated public transport system available to provide people with a real alternative to using their cars.
"This would mean 30km of new Metrolink track, new faster bus routes using hundreds of new, better buses, including Yellow School buses, new trains, and faster, easier travel with new transport interchanges and Park and Ride facilities and better travel information and ticketing. All of these, coupled with institutional reform and greater influence of the bus network will herald a public transport revolution in Greater Manchester.
"We have received a large volume of valuable feedback from the local business community and Greater Manchester residents, which we will now use to help shape the detailed nature of our full strategy. And, we will ensure there will be further opportunity for people to fully understand our proposals and comment on them in detail over the coming months."
Bid documentation will now be finalised for submission to the Department for Transport on 31 July. Further information on the process following this submission, including the arrangements for further consultation will be made available in the near future.
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