Readers of the Manchester Evening News (MEN) will be aware that three councils on the GMPTA (Greater Manchester Transport Authority) have pulled out of the propposed Raod Pricing Trail in Greater Manchester.
http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/ ... evolt.html
http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/ ... _road.html
the three non labour controlled councils that have pulled out are
Trafford
Rochdale
Stockport.
The councils that have not and still support Road Pricing in Greater Manchester are
Bolton
Manchester
Bury
Oldham
Salford
Tameside
Wigan
The reason the 3 non labour controlled councils have given for pulling out of the RP trial is that they accuse the Labour controlled GMPTA of withholding how much the average cost is going to to the average motorist in Greater Manchester.
They suspect it is going to be quite high, the London Con Charge was not profitable at £5 per day, so they upped it to £8 per day, the Greater Manchester scheme is much bigger, so £8 per day is not unexspected, and remember the Greater Manchester one is planned to be billed by the mile, not just for entering a C Charge Zone.
Basicly they reckon the figure is so high that if Labour was to release it pre May 3rd elections, it would wipe Labour out of Greater Manchester so they are trying to keep it quiet, but the three non Labour Controlled councils have had enough.
Rochdale council leader Alan Taylor said: "The only details of the scheme are those I have read in the M.E.N."
"We are being told we will know more on May 25, but that is ridiculous. They say they have not prepared any details, but they must have the information"
Stockport MP Mark Hunter says
"The Labour-run GMPTA have continually refused to give relevant information about these plans, what public transport improvements will be installed and whether these improvements will come first, what roads will be charged and how the charges might affect jobs and the economy.
"They are expecting MPs and councillors to accept plans sight unseen. If Manchester council wants to go ahead with its own zoned charging scheme, that's a matter for them. But I don't see why the rest of us should have some half-baked scheme foisted upon us."
If you want to pass this message around, and Remember, May the 3rd, I'm not telling you what to do, it your decision