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Scots prepare to charge
Page 22
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:dinburgh City Council is deciding whether to press ahead with its )wn congestion charge. Chris Tindall assesses its popularity.
In less than a week Edinburgh City Council will announce whether plans to introduce a !congestion charge for motorists the Scottish capital are to come a reality.
Following a 10-week public quiry in October last year, a )stal referendum on the proposal as rolled out on 7 February. ()ling lasts three weeks and an mouncement will follow on 22 2bruary. So far, the council says ),000 of the 291,000 residents igible to vote have done so.
If a majority votes in favour mgestion charging will begin in Le early summer of 2006.
However, as was the case with ondon's own congestion charge, 3erators affected by Edinburgh's ans are divided over what they see ; yet another tax. What everyone )es agree on, however, is that the scale of the traffic problem in the city has become a huge concern for businesses and motorists alike, and something has to be done soon.
About 160,000 vehicles enter central Edinburgh every day and if current trends continue the council predicts that figure will increase to 180,000 a day by 2016.
Operators oppose it...
"Having spoken to colleagues within the industry they are all against the congestion charge," says Peter Commons, a sole trader whose business, Shuttle Couriers, specialises in pallet deliveries in and around Edinburgh.
"I have voted against the scheme," he adds. "If successful this charge will help some people, but I don't think it will help the business community. The council wants to drive businesses out of the city." Commons alleges the council is much more interested in tourists than city centre businesses trying to eke out a living.
Carl Olufsen, who is area fleet manager for Motherwell-based DHL Express, has complained about the company being "fined" simply fordoing its job (CM 21 October) but not all local operators are against the idea.
-I'm in favour of it," says David Bennett, director for Eagle Couriers, which runs 42 vehicles in Edinburgh."The city has a serious problem. Congestion has reached ridiculous levels" Bennett explains that he has voted in favour of the charge, as it will help to ease congestion and allow the company to offer better quality service. He doesn't agree with Commons' belief that the council is hounding businesses out of the city in favour of tourists,but he adds: "The city has shot itself in the foot in terms of out of city developments such as supermarket& It was extremely short-sighted."
...Residents oppose it
Bennett says latest opinion polls published in the Scottish press suggest the proposal is extremely unpopular, with 65% of respondents saying they were against congestion charging.
However, he attacks the "dreadful, negative knee-jerk reactions" from those who don't like the idea of a £2 charge: "It's not a tax; it's a reasonable way of impacting on a problem we have already.
"If there's a cost impact, it will be passed on to the customer. There will be an administrative burden but at the end of the day someone has to pay it I can't absorb it." •