I don’t agree with you MRData. Those who struggle ...

2008-12-12T09:07:00.000Z

I don’t agree with you MRData. Those who struggle the most are those low paid workers that cannot afford a car and currently either rely on a poor public transport system or are unable to work in certain areas due to lack of access.

The key to this is not pricing people out of the city through a congestion charge; it is about giving people more efficient ways of getting into Manchester on public transports. I think it is also worth mentioning the exceptions from the charge that are included in these proposals;

• Motorcycles
• Black cabs
• Disabled Blue Badge holders
• Buses
• Emergency vehicles

Plus there would be a 20% discount for low-paid workers. So disabled drivers and low-paid have been considered in the proposals which essentially makes it progressive rather than regressive.

As for your point about students, if students currently here stay in Manchester to work, areas popular with young-professionals such as Chorlton stand to benefit massively with Metrolink extensions in South Manchester. Plus the students of tomorrow, although they cannot vote today, will benefit hugely with a rapid bus corridor and capped bus fares.

As for capacity issues, you have to keep in mind that some people will be able to travel outside of the charging periods or alternatively use park and rides which are relatively easy to expand. And the more people use public transports, the more funds are available through fares to use for investment.

Vote YES. (Although the vote has now closed, so perhaps just keep your fingers crossed for the result!)

Vote NO if you support the ordinary worker already...

2008-12-10T22:09:00.000Z

Vote NO if you support the ordinary worker already bridled with massive debts just to live and also massive car costs to travel to work in Manchester from outside.

Once upon a day the labour party was about supporting the ordinary fellow workers. Not any more - your as bad as the selfish attitude of the Tories. Talking about a no brainer for students: where is your logic here? Your only a student for a short time then will be dependent on the car to get to work like the vast majority for whom it is impossible to use public transport. Your voting for a £1200 per year tax on low paid workers already struggling to manage as it is.

Do you seriously believe that the politicians have the best interests of ordinary people at heart. After observing them for half a century I can say that I wouldnt trust a politician. There are a very few principled ones out there but they are a rare breed indeed.

This massive tax on ordinary working people is a massive con. There is no way for any improvement in public transport to cater for the hundreds of thousands that live on out of the way housing estates and work in out of the main centre in Manchester. Just get yourself on Google Earth and look at what a difference having to use public transport would mean. A doubling or trebling of travel time with multiple points of failure.

As one of the masses that would pay the full £1200 per year extra as a tax to get to work and suffer the queues of traffic you'd better hope that they continue to pay the charge. If a large proportion chose to change to public transport there is NO WAY for any system to cope with the vast army of people needing to get to and from Manchester/Salford each day.

So what you'd get is an overstretched and severely unpleasant public transport system with a big rise in local rates as the congestion charge money was insufficient.

Vote NO. Vote for fairness.

Comments on Manchester Labour Students: The Squirrel says "VOTE YES!"

I don’t agree with you MRData. Those who struggle ...

Vote NO if you support the ordinary worker already...