Title of Example

Example

Congestion charging in Bristol

Congestion charging is one approach that the Council is investigating as part of an integrated package of measures to reduce demand for travel by and use of the car. It is now widely recognised that introducing incentives alone will not be sufficient to reduce car use in line with the objectives set by national government and Council objectives.

In 1999 consultation for the Local Transport Plan indicated strong local support for congestion charging on the condition that money raised in this way will contribute towards the provision of better public transport. It is also widely recognised that congestion charging is an effective way of addressing the related problem of air pollution caused by vehicles.

The City Council has been involved in numerous projects throughout recent years to research and pilot such schemes. This has involved extensive working with authorities pursuing similar schemes from within the UK and Europe. This has included two road pricing trials undertaken in 1998 and 2000. A further trial is anticipated in 2003 testing satellite technology as part of the national government research programme (DIRECTS).

The Proposal

A study carried out by consultants in 1999 recommended that the Council pursue a scheme concentrating on a city centre cordon with drivers paying the charge electronically. This cordon is found within the Inner Circuit Road, with 14 entry points, and includes Broadmead and The Centre.

Current proposals are for an inbound only charge in the morning peak period. A detailed design study was commissioned in 2001 to consider the impacts of the scheme on transport in the city. This included the investigation of a package of complementary measures to be funded from a scheme. The draft final report for this study has been submitted.

Timescale

The Council recognise the need for investment in transport and have made the commitment that improved public transport alternatives will be implemented prior to a possible scheme.

Also, the government requires councils to undertake full public consultation (this may include a public inquiry) before considering the introduction of congestion charging schemes. These processes will take some time and this means that a scheme could not be introduced in Bristol until 2007 at the earliest.

Funding

Revenues from the congestion charge will assist with funding new and improved public transport services. In addition, funding is already being provided to the Council through the Charging Development Partnership (CDP) for the implementation of alternatives and investigation of charging in the city.

Partners

The Department for Transport (DfT) is supporting the Council in this project. They are involved through the funding of the scheme through the CDP (see above) and in the research and demonstration projects being carried out at a national and European level.

Bristol City Council is a member of the Charging Development Partnership. This is a partnership between the DfT and 35 local authorities interested in congestion charging or workplace parking levy. Their aim is to examine the impacts and implications of introducing such schemes. The CDP also aids the development of guidance and regulations for successful implementation.

Bristol is working with the European Commission and other European cities to ensure best practice in congestion charging development. In particular Bristol is managing the PRoGRESS and EURoPrice projects focusing on road pricing initiatives. The many stakeholders in the Bristol area are regularly consulted on aspects of the scheme. Consultees include the Bristol Chamber of Commerce and Initiative, the Broadmead Board (who manage the Broadmead shopping area), FirstGroup (who operate the majority of the local bus services) and the RAC.

PRoGR€SS - Pricing Road use for Greater Responsibility, Efficiency and Sustainability in cities.

The PRoGR€SS project aims to demonstrate and evaluate the effectiveness and acceptance of urban road pricing schemes to achieve transport goals.

The objective is being achieved by focussing on six goals:

• To develop and demonstrate urban road pricing schemes in real situations;
• To provide co-ordination between the demonstration sites;
• To develop and assess the political, economic and social framework required for urban road pricing;
• To evaluate the impact and effectiveness of the demonstrations;
• To provide policy results at the local level; and
• To disseminate the demonstration and evaluation results.

The project is funded by the European Commission and involves 8 European partners (Bristol, Copenhagen, Edinburgh, Genoa, Gothenburg, Helsinki, Rome and Trondheim). It focuses on large-scale demonstrations of urban pricing schemes, with seven of the cities demonstrating different methods and technologies. Key elements include:

• monitoring of processes for scheme implementation;
• assessment of the impacts of schemes; and
• assessment of social and political acceptance of the schemes.

The results of the project will be available on its completion in 2004.

For further information on the PRoGR€SS project visit the website at: www.progress-project.org

Links to London road user charging reports

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/pdfdocs/congestion_charging/monitoring/first‑annual‑report‑environment.pdf

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/cclondon/cc_monitoring‑1st‑report.shtml

Last Updated

13th January 2005