Greater Manchester Franchising

[Barney]

RE: Greater Manchester Franchising

(26/03/2021 10:59)Rodney259 Wrote:  Franchising sort of works in London because of subsidies from the congestion charge which, without it would mean hugely increased fares. I am sure that motorists will be absolutely delighted to pay high congestion charges so that bus tickets can be cheaper. Think it’s a great idea for the ‘rich’ (NOT!!) motorists to subsidise ever decreasing bus passengers. Why not introduce charges in for office workers to subsidise pubs and bank workers to subsidise takeaways? There are all the controls that the Council needs to run them more effectively but the trouble is that all politicians are unable to run the proverbial booze up in a brewery but are extremely happy to waste taxpayers money and blame everyone else for their failings.

Rodney259, you seem to have presented quite a few of your opinions as facts.

It is true that the Congestion Charge in London goes some way to funding TfL. In 2008 a proposal to introduce a congestion charge in Manchester was rejected in a referendum with the main argument against it being that it would merely benefit private bus operators who were failing to provide the necessary services that would persuade commuters to ditch their cars.

Things have moved on since then with issues of exhaust pollution having come to the fore and I suspect that congestion charging in some form will be back on the table in the near future. My understanding is that some form of LEZ with heavy penalties for buses, vans and HGVs is soon to be introduced in Manchester.