TIF bid gets a boost... and so do its opponents

Manchester's TIF bid got a boost yesterday when it was revealed that the West Midlands had withdrawn its application for the money.  Only Cambridge and Manchester now remain in the race.  Manchester is the favourite to win funding from the scheme that will see huge improvements to Greater Manchester's public transport along with the introduction of congestion charging at peak times.

The congestion charge is, of course, massively unpopular among drivers in the area.  Here at Manchester Buses we'd love to see the improvements planned for Greater Manchester at any cost (no surprise, we don't have a car!) but if things happen here the way they have in New York they'll remain just a pipe dream.

Sean Corker from Machester Against Road Tolls has jumped on this as a victory for the anti C-charge camp, but is it?  New York is a very different place to Manchester.  Sure, it's probably more congested than Manchester but Americans also love their cars more than many other nations.  In America you're pretty much a low-life if you regularly use buses to get around so it's no surprise that there wasn't much support for the bill to go through.

Here we have a chance to do something solid and long-term about congestion.  It'd be better, for sure, if it didn't involve congestion charging, but that's the only option we have right now.  Oh and don't say we don't have a growing congestion problem - it took the 109 bus 90 minutes to do a journey that's supposed to take 50 minutes.  Plus the  bus was 20 minutes late leaving Piccadilly, meaning it arrived at Wythenshawe Hospital an hour later than it should have done!

Comments

[Stuart Vallantine]

Further proof: 1753, 220 Manchester - Stalybridge:

1838: Half Way House, Openshaw (normally at Albion Hotel, Dukinfield by then).
1857: Albion Hotel, Dukinfield by then (driver should be enroute to depot).

This was more the exception (unless live events are taking place at the City of Manchester stadium) rather than the rule. The reason I found was a knock on effect of congestion from an accident on the M602 and road works on Oxford Road.

Road congestion falling in Manchester my rear end...!