National road pricing scheme in doubt

The resounding "no" vote in the Manchester congestion charging referendum is likely to signal the end of the road for any national road pricing scheme.

And the Manchester result could also discourage the few local authorities pursuing the congestion-charge option from proceeding further.

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The cost of congestion is known to be astronomical and there have been dire warnings as to what will happen if nothing is done to curb traffic growth.

However, there is now an argument that the huge amounts of new technology and the high cost of implementing any national road pricing scheme is economically and politically impractical during the sort of extreme recession now expected.

Cynics can also point to the fact that with a huge economic downturn to be encountered, there will be a slowing in the growth of road traffic anyway.

In any event, the Manchester response today is significant and follows the two-to-one rejection by local residents of the continuing operation of the western extension of the congestion charge area in London.

Other than Durham in north-east England, London is the only place where a congestion charge exists.

The London scheme has been a partial success although improved traffic flows have been offset by jam-causing streetworks.

While never committing itself to a policy of widespread road pricing, the Government has set in motion various jam-busting measures.

These have included making £200 million a year available from the Transport Innovation Fund - a financial pot for which local authorities can bid and which will fund local transport projects in return for a council exploring traffic-management schemes.

So far, authorities in Leeds, Reading in Berkshire, Cambridgeshire and in the Bristol area have shown interest.

In addition, the Government is looking at the whole question of road pricing technology and feasibility through various projects.

The Government is also exploring other ways to beat congestion, with schemes including high-occupancy vehicle lanes on motorways and allowing cars to use the hard shoulder of motorways at busy times.

Even taking account of hard economic times, the rate of growth of road traffic in the UK may merely slow rather than grind to a halt.

At a conference in London last month, Transport Minister Paul Clark said plans were being put in place because to do nothing would ensure that gridlock worsened when the economy revived.

But he also made it clear that, before any form of road pricing was introduced, the Government had to fully address people's concerns around fairness and privacy.

It was also vital, he added, that those affected had proper transport alternatives.

It has always been stressed that any road pricing on a national scale was some years off. It could now be postponed indefinitely.