25 February 2008
We received a petition asking:
"We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Keep Cambridge Free - Oppose congestion charging in Cambridge, provide no funding for it, and require a referendum before the council can introduce it."
Details of Petition:
"Keep Cambridge and the rest of the county free. No road pricing here. No new road tolls. No tax on travel. No government bribes to coerce travellers onto inconvenient and expensive public transport. Congestion charging is very inconvenient for the user. The London scheme only makes a profit due to penalties. Other schemes could lead to unexpected large debts with no way to dispute them. How is the driver to know in advance even roughly how much a journey would cost? Road pricing is not about reducing congestion, but pricing private cars off the road. It damages business, commuting and social activity. It hurts most those least able to pay. It requires a vast expensive system to monitor every journey. It is an intolerable interference with our freedom. If the council is determined to press ahead, then let the people of Cambridge decide in a fair referendum whether they want congestion charging."
Read the Government’s response
Congestion is a growing problem that affects us all. As the economy grows, people want to travel more. The number of vehicles has gone up from twenty six million in 1996 to thirty three million today, and more households now own two cars than no car. If left unchecked, congestion is predicted to cost the economy around an extra £22 billion every year by 2025 - £10-12 billion a year for businesses , and congestion doesn’t just affect the economy - it causes frustration for people stuck in traffic jams and affects people’s quality of life.
There are clear gains to be made from tackling congestion and this is why the Government is doing a great deal to tackle it - by providing more road space where this is justified and making better use of existing roads, as well as improving public transport. But this won’t be enough in the long term, which is why we are exploring road pricing.
Evidence suggests that road pricing can be a powerful tool in tackling congestion - particularly when backed up by the right improvements to public transport. But the Government recognises that the public are sceptical about road pricing. People need to see the benefits for themselves - and also that any road pricing scheme will be reliable and accurate, and safeguard their privacy.
The Government has made £18 million funding available for local authorities to look at the congestion problems they face. Further funding is being made available from this year for packages of measures combining public transport improvements with road pricing schemes, all of which will tackle congestion and help people to get around reliably in their local area. Up to £200 million per year will be available from the Transport Innovation Fund to develop these packages. You can find out more in "Transport Innovation Fund: Guidance for Business Case Requirements for Programme Entry" .
We are also working with industry on a project to test road pricing systems and technology. The project will explore how more widespread road pricing could be possible so that it was reliable and accurate and, crucially, protected people’s privacy.
It is important that we demonstrate how we would deliver safeguards on privacy and against fraud, before taking decisions on any widespread system of road pricing.
We have made it clear that councils will need to consult those affected by their proposals, and that schemes which impose unacceptable social or other costs will not be funded. But it is for individual local authorities to decide what form of consultation is appropriate for their area.
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