UK government blackmails Manchester in pay-as-you-drive scheme
Ben Webster
Times Online
November 17, 2008
The Government is threatening to withhold £1.5 billion of public funding for public transport in Manchester unless the city agrees to become a guinea pig for pay-as-you-drive road pricing.
- A d v e r t i s e m e n t
Geoff Hoon, the Transport Secretary, said funding for new tram lines, extra buses and trains would be cancelled unless a majority of Greater Manchester’s 1.8 million population voted “yes” in next month’s road pricing referendum.
Mr Hoon’s comments, in an interview with The Times, angered opponents of Manchester’s proposed charging scheme. They accused the Government of trying to bully the city into voting for a tax on commuting by car.
Under the scheme, drivers would have electronic tags fitted to their cars and set up prepaid accounts. Up to £5 a day would be deducted automatically from their accounts as they passed roadside beacons on an inner and outer ring around the city.
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