Here we go then. Our voting packs for the "TIF" proposals (aka the Manchester congestion charging scheme) arrived this morning. We have until December 11 to vote, but ours will be in the post tomorrow.Various polls on local radio have suggested that a majority of voters will be voting No, but will that really make a difference? Scaremongering tactics among the yes campaigners would have it that this is a one-off chance; all or nothing; say yes now or lose all that lovely transport investment. I don't believe that for one minute. Firstly, I wouldn't put it past them to bring the scheme back under another guise in the event of a "no" result. I'm sure our councillors are quite capable of learning that trick from the EU. The new EU constitution has gone through on the nod, despite being virtually identical to the previous attempt and there being no UK referendum. So watch out for Manchester councils to reinvent the scheme, claim it has nothing to do with the old scheme and therefore doesn't warrant a new vote, and do it anyway.
Secondly, if congestion really IS that bad (it isn't. Industry watchers say that city centre traffic levels have remained virtually unchanged for the past ten years) then everyone will be up in arms in a little while and the money will be found from somewhere. It always is. Usually from the motorists. We all have bottomless pockets, you know.
I don't mind telling you it'll be a NO from me. The alternative is to force Nikki to take the bus to and from work every day - changing her 25 minute round trip into 2 hours - or incur the full daily charge of £5 to give her a lift. That's £1200 a year right out of our increasingly empty pockets. No thanks.
4 comments:
Where does Nikki work John? Won't you be travelling within the zones?
She works in Northenden - outside the M60 - and since the inner ring skirts the city-centre side of Wilbraham Road, I have to cross both rings on my return journey in the morning, and again on my way to pick her up in the evening.
A few years ago (after having motorcycles for about thirty years) I bought an old Honda scooter to get my ass to and from work. It's the best thing I've done automotive-wise. Costs me about eight dollars Canadian for a fill-up and that lasts me about two weeks. Insurance is about a dollar a day.
There are people at work who think I'm some kind of weirdo, but I don't care any more. I think I'm at the stage in my life where I don't feel I have to meet up to anybody else's expectations, so riding a twenty-three year old scooter is cool to me, and if they think I'm an old weirdo, that's okay.
All you need to do now Don is grow your hair and find a decent pair of Raybans ;o)
Scooters are exempt from the C-charge, IIRC, but I can't see Nikki being very happy about riding pillion.
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