Congestion charge still a contentious issue as debates continue over plan

Last month, Cardiff council unveiled a prosposal to introduce a congestion charge to drive into the capital, as part of a 10-year package of transport improvements. Five weeks on, Laura Clements looks at the debate over the controversial plan

IT’S 17 years since London introduced its revolutionary congestion charge.

It aimed to tackle gridlock, while also boosting bus services and travel times, and making it more efficient to get around the city.

Fast forward to 2020 and the same ambitions are now behind Cardiff Council’s massive transport revamp.

It recently unveiled its 10-year vision in a white paper entitled Changing How We Move Around A Growing City.

But just over a month later and battle lines are already being drawn on the controversial £2 congestion charge proposal.

Matthew MacKinoon, director at the Centre for Welsh Studies, said: “We don’t support the idea of a congestion charge because we don’t think Cardiff is ready to implement it.

“London can get away with it because it is the global capital of finance. Cardiff power or clout.”

Some Assembly Members representing South Wales consituencies have also expressed concerns about the proposal – particularly the suggestion that a charge would apply to those coming into Cardiff, while exempting those living in the capital.

Blaenau Gwent AM Alun Davies said “many of us will support their [Cardiff council’s] ambitions, but not many of us will tolerate a Valleys tax to pay for it”.

Cynon Valley AM Vikki Howells has highlighted the impact a charge would have on communities where “currently, public transport is not effective in getting people into the city”.

Yet there are plenty who support the plan.

Chris Roberts, from Cardiff Cycle City, said: “Our aim is to get Cardiff as doesn’t have that the best cycling city in the UK and that needs investment so we need to get the funding to adapt the city.

“We need to do something about congestion or we pay for it in terms of health impacts.

“The council have said they will put in the investment before they start charging people which is the best way to go about it.”

The investment important point.

On the day the congestion charge was introduced in London, 300 extra buses were added to the Central London bus network.

One year on 29,000 more passengers were entering the charging zone by bus during morning rush hour.

Between 2002 and 2014, the number of private cars coming into the zone fell by 39%.

Any congestion charge in Cardiff would not be implemented until the end of 2024, after a number of key projects come into play, which the council says will offer a range of alternatives for drivers, including:

■ Extra Transport for Wales capacity on key Valleys lines;

■ Improved park and ride facilites;

■ A new central bus station, and interchanges at Waungron and University timeline is an train

of Wales;

■ Completion of “Metro Plus Phase 1 projects” such as Porth Interchange;

■ The first phase of the city’s segregated cycle network;

■ A new train station at St Mellons, and new Metro stations at Crwys Road, Roath Park and Loudoun Square;

■ A regional express bus scheme; and ■ Crossrail phase 1 – a new tram-train service from Radyr to Cardiff Bay, via the City Line and a new link south of Central and across Callaghan Square.

The council says it would not bring in a congestion charge as a standalone measure and if all projects come off in time, there will be alternatives for people travelling into the city.

Mr Roberts was cautiously optimistic, but said building big new infrastructure like the Metro should not be seen as the only solution to “solve all our problems”.

“More walking and cycling and active transport is the answer,” he added. “Studies have shown that more than half of people are willing to cycle more if the right infrastructure is put in place. Public transport and active travel go hand in hand.”

Mr MacKinnon, meanwhile, remained sceptical about the proposals.

“Cardiff Council hasn’t announced any plans to put on extra services yet,” he said. “They are not at a stage where it can work – we don’t have the tube like London, or trams or a metro like other cities. It’s been quite poorly thought through.”

But Cardiff council says it has costed the projects outlined in the Transport White Paper, which comes in at between £1bn and £2bn.

It estimates that a weekday £2 charge for cars could raise a surplus in the region of £15m to £20m per year, which could be used to support upfront borrowing for investment, and