The Greater Manchester Transport Innovation Fund was a failed bid by the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority (GMPTA) and Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA) to secure £1.5 billion from the Transport Innovation Fund (TIF), a major public transport funding mechanism in England, for the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester. There would have been an additional £1.2 billion borrowed and paid back through a mixture of public transport revenues and weekday, peak-time only Greater Manchester congestion charge.
If approved, the funds would have been spent on modernising Greater Manchester's transport network, with large-scale extensions of the Manchester Metrolink system, as well as increased bus and rail services, investment in existing stations and improvements to cycling and road networks. Other changes would have been the introduction of the Readycard, an Integrated Transport Smartcard similar to the Oyster card used in Greater London.
AGMA decided to hold a referendum in Greater Manchester so that its electorate could express their approval or rejection of the proposals. The referendum, a postal vote, began in late November and closed on 11 December 2008. The results were announced on 12 December, showing that the majority of voters in all ten boroughs rejected the proposals. Retrieved on 12 December 2008.
History On 25 May 2007 the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA) and GMPTA issued a joint news release stating their intention to 'seek views' on a possible Transport Innovation Fund (TiF) bid to the government for a £3bn package of transport funding along with the introduction of a congestion charging system.
Four tests were set by AGMA for a suitable bid: 80% of the investment programme would be in place before congestion charging commenced, with 100% of the improvements completed in the subsequent two-year period. The proposal would support competition and address social inclusion across Greater Manchester That the bid be acceptable to both the public and the business community That the congestion charge addressed areas where congestion was most obvious, and that it would be simple and efficient
Following a consultation period involving the use of polls, focus groups, and feedback, on 27 July 2007 AGMA agreed to submit the bid. On 9 June 2008 Ruth Kelly, the Secretary of State for Transport, announced that Greater Manchester's TiF bid had been approved by the Department for Transport. A 14-week consultation on the proposal began on 5 July 2008, and on 24 July 2008 a decision was made to allow a referendum to decide upon the future of the scheme. At a meeting of the AGMA in Bolton on 29 August 2008, it was decided that a referendum would be held on 11 December 2008. It was the first time that the population of Greater Manchester has voted in a referendum since 1975 when the UK voted to stay in the European Union. Retrieved on 9 December 2008. The returning officer was Sir Neil McIntosh. The referendum is to be administered by the Electoral Reform Society. Although the local authorities opted into the referendum, they were not obliged to take part as it is a "local poll" governed by Section 116 of the Local Government Act 2003. Retrieved on 9 December 2008. To ensure the success of the bid, 50.1% of all votes in seven out of the ten Greater Manchester authorities would need to be 'for' the scheme. From the total vote (each region has 10% of the total) a minimum vote of 35.07% 'for' spread evenly over seven areas is required.
Funding The proposed funding would have been in two parts: £1.441bn in the form of a grant from Central Government, and £1.150bn as a loan to be repaid over a period of 30 years with the profit generated by both the public transport system and the Congestion Charge, in addition £300m would have been loaned to directly set up and administer the congestion charging system. The funding would be spent on the proposed improvements, and the cost of setting up the system. Once the loan had been repaid, the profits from the congestion charge would be used to fund future investment in Greater Manchester's transport system. Retrieved on 10 December 2008
Investment
Buses
Privately operated bus services would have gained a large amount of investment from the fund. The aim of the TiF was to improve reliability, create better local routes and better access, and to make the services easier to use. The proposals included:
Improving the frequency of bus services at all times of day, including the early morning and late evening Expanding the service network and making bus coverage in Greater Manchester more comprehensive Introducing more modern and comfortable buses (all of which would have low floors for ease of access) Providing new "feeder" links with railway stations and Metrolink stops Improving fare-collection systems, encouraging the use of season tickets and the introduction of a smartcard scheme Introducing "bus priority" corridors to give buses more road space.
At a local level, the plan presumed that 90% of the population of Greater Manchester should live within a five-minute walk of a bus service meeting the following criteria:
At least a 20-minute frequency on weekdays At least a 30-minute frequency on weekday evenings and at weekends.
Access improvements would have included a new real-time customer information system: passengers would be able to monitor the location of buses, and their expected time of arrival, by checking online or by using a mobile phone, with some stops including screens displaying such information. Closed-circuit television at stops and on buses would be installed to help improve security. New routes were proposed, including circular routes serving various inner suburbs and connecting them with popular districts such as Trafford Park and Salford Quays; outer circular services travelling across Greater Manchester between outlying areas transport interchanges and linking transport corridors in addition to the existing radial services terminating in Manchester city centre; and a high-speed Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) service between Leigh, Salford, and Manchester, travelling mostly on new bus corridors.
Yellow school buses As of 2008 there were 36 dedicated school buses operating in Greater Manchester. The Transport Innovation Fund would have increased the fleet in two stages. Funding had already been secured for 120 new school buses (provided regardless of the outcome of the public vote on the proposals), 70 of which were to be used on new routes, and 50 to replace the buses then in use on existing routes. A further 170 were planned to be introduced over the next decade utilising Tif funding.
Railways
Northern Trains is responsible for running local rail services and for operating most railway stations in Greater Manchester. The TiF included plans for improving the rail network in the area. Investment in new and longer trains would increase peak-time capacity by 2,950 seats across Greater Manchester; this would be in addition to 4,100 peak-time seats the government had promised to fund regardless of whether the TiF proceeded. Extra platforms or extensions to existing platforms could be built at some stations to accommodate longer trains. Security improvements would include the provision of closed-circuit television at stations, covering platforms, waiting areas and car parks. In order to encourage passengers to cycle to stations, 2,500 secure bicycle stands are planned. Connections between different modes of transport would be improved with interchange facilities (with buses and Metrolink services where applicable) at several locations in Manchester city centre, Salford, Altrincham, Ashton-under-Lyne, Bolton, Eccles, Stockport and Wigan. New or enlarged park and ride facilities were proposed at Cheadle Hulme, Horwich Parkway, Hazel Grove, Heald Green, Mills Hill, Rochdale, Romiley and Stalybridge railway stations. As with the proposed improvements to the bus network, customer information screens would have been provided at all stations; real-time updates would be available online and via a text message service. The proposed smartcard system would be valid on trains in the Greater Manchester area as well as on buses and trams.
Metrolink
Manchester Metrolink is Greater Manchester's urban transit system. The network in 2008 had 3 routes, 37 stations and of track. The Phase 3a extension already had funding, with surveys and inspection work already underway. Further extensions proposed under the TiF scheme would have increased track mileage to , the number of stops to 108, the combined impact of the recently announced extensions to the Metrolink network (which are not part of TiF) and the impact of TiF extensions would bring to the total passenger capacity to 70 million journeys annually (from 20 million in 2008).
The proposed Phase 3b extension included within the TiF consisted of various extensions to Phase 3a routes:
Two branch lines running from the Phase 3a terminus at Chorlton-cum-Hardy. One would run to East Didsbury, the other to Manchester Airport An extension to the Phase 3a Droylsden branch, to Ashton-under-Lyne A street running line running between Mumps and Werneth stations in Oldham, replacing the heavy rail route. Extending the Phase 3a Rochdale branch from Rochdale railway station into the town centre Funding would also be made available for a branch line to the Trafford Centre. A Second City Crossing to increase capacity through Manchester city centre, and to avoid the possibility of tram congestion between G-Mex station and Piccadilly. This would link G-Mex directly with Victoria station, avoiding Piccadilly, with potential new stops at Cross Street and Albert Square - although a slightly longer route along Deansgate was considered.
An additional 40 trams would have been ordered to supplement the 32 then in use on the network, and to provide extra capacity for Phase 3a. The TiF would fund the purchase of a further 58 trams. On the then existing network, capacity enhancements would be primarily along the Altrincham–Bury route: all services would be operated by double units (two trams coupled together) by the end of 2012. Proposed general enhancements to the system included frequency improvements, new 'through' journeys between different regions of Greater Manchester, improved accessibility to the trams, track improvements, real-time customer information systems, security enhancements, and the ability to use the proposed smartcard.
Since the rejection of Tif a plan to achieve most of the same Metrolink investment programme was created drawing funds from increased council tax precepts, commercial loans and the bringing forward of the entitled Dft Regional Funding Allocation from 2010 to 2016. The £1.3bn fund which is also being spent on some road schemes and the BRT scheme enabled £800m of the planned Metrolink investment to proceed. The notable exceptions were the £317m Trafford line, part of the Airport Loop and the Stockport town centre extension.
Greater Manchester smartcard
The planned smartcard system would cover all modes of transport in the Greater Manchester area, removing the need to buy separate tickets for a multi-modal journey. Operationally, it would be similar to London's Oystercard scheme.
While delayed by the failure of the Tif vote the smartcard has since found £1m annual funding from a new government programme for research and studies into enabling the roll out of smartcards nationally amongst the city regions.
Cars Congestion within the Greater Manchester area had remained unchanged for some years. A report released by Greater Manchester Traffic Unit in September 2008 states that "Manchester traffic flows decreased in all time periods between 1997 and 2006. The improvements to the Manchester and Salford Inner Relief Route in 2002 and traffic management measures within the city centre have contributed to this."