Birmingham, Bristol and Manchester were among cities today awarded a total of more than £7 million to study the possibility of introducing congestion charging.
Seven local authorities - Somerset, Cambridgeshire, Durham, Manchester, Shropshire, Tyne & Wear and the West Midlands - won the funding from the Department of Transport to study innovative approaches to relieving traffic jams "where pricing is a major element".
"Congestion is bad for business, frustrates motorists and hurts local economies," said Alastair Darling, the Transport Secretary, who announced the grants today at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) annual conference in London.
"I am convinced that without more radical measures, including more effective demand management and actively managing traffic flows, road congestion will get worse. That is why I’ve been very clear about the need to look at road pricing," he said.
Michael Roberts, the drector of business environment for the CBI, reacted by saying: "In implementing schemes local authorities have to understand the needs of business - and ensure they make a positive contribution to the region's economy - while the Government must make sure there is consistency between schemes and minimise administrative costs for users.
"Significant investment in public transport is vital to ensure that there are genuine alternatives for road users.
"Road pricing has a role to play but must be integrated with other policies including public transport and planning."
Mr Darling said that the awards, from a total fund of £18 million, could be a first, local step towards a national road pricing scheme. "Local and regional pilots are essential if we are to explore and understand the possibilities of road pricing at national level," he said.
London already has a controversial congestion charging scheme, recently extended, in the City and parts of Westminster and south London. The schemes principle advocate, London Mayor Ken Livingstone, was on the platform at the CBI today for the debate that followed Mr Darling's speech.
Of the new grants, the West Midlands won the largest slice - £2.6 million. The M42 Expressway is a toll motorway and is the test bed of Mr Darling's road-charging policies. Earlier this month, annual traffic statistics showed that motorways and local roads around Birmingham were the busiest in the country. Local businesses say traffic jams costs the region £2.5 billion every year.
But a spokesman for the West Midlands Metropolitan Authorities, which submitted the region's bid, said congestion charging was only one of several options that will be examined by the feasibility study. "All we're saying is that we are prepared to look at road pricing as one of the potential solutions," he said.
The funding, which will be paid over three years, was announced as the CBI asked the Government to invest an immediate £1 billion in Britain’s transport network, with an extra £60 billion added to the long-term investment programme.
The business organisation is pressing for the extra cash ahead of next week’s Pre-Budget Report after a survey of members found widespread dissatisfaction with transport and fears it was harming business.
Some 52 per cent of employers questioned said that their supply chains had suffered because of transport problems and 48 per cent said that their reputation had suffered because of transport difficulties. Just over half, 51 per cent, said that problems with transport had damaged the reputation of Britain as a place to do business.
When the Government announced its ten-year plan for transport in 2000 it said that it would spend £180 billion over the period. The CBI has estimated that spending has gone up to £240 billion. But it said the total needed to rise to £300 billion over the next ten years.
Today's grants:
West Midlands £2.6m
Bristol £1.5m
Greater Manchester £1.25m
Tyne & Wear £950,000
Shropshire £480,000
Cambridgeshire £385,000
Durham £300,000
Total £7.46m
