Letters >

Congestion charging - Charlie Bolton, 1 March 2005

To: Bristol Evening Post

Dear Sir

Eddie Smith bemoans the possibility of Congestion charging in Bristol ('Road charges are unfair on drivers, letters, 28th February). He says that it discriminates against those on lower incomes, and that councils should realise that we should encourage use of public transport which is reliable and cheap.

Well, I agree with his reasoning but disagree with his conclusions.

Yes, congestion charging does discriminate against the lower paid. So does the price of caviar, long-haul air travel, train tickets to Scotland, the cost of a sports car, etc etc.

The pollution from congestion kills thousands each year, as well as contributing to global warming. We should take whatever steps we can to discourage it. Congestion charging is one way of doing this. The way to deal with issues of the low paid is to pay them more, rather than leave their rates of pay to the vagaries of market forces. 'Redistribution of wealth' may be a dirty concept to our current government, but is one I support.

When it comes to having a decent, reliable, cheap public transport - well, it has to be paid for, and a congestion charge would raise money to help achieve this. Given the terrible financial state of Bristol City council, I doubt if there is spare cash available from existing sources. To pile problem upon problem, when it comes to the buses, we have the worst of all worlds - First Bus is a private monopoly, lacking both the benefits of competition and the public accountability of public ownership.

Charlie Bolton
Parliamentary candidate
Bristol South Green Party