It voted against one last time, but if they can find temporary funding to allow a carrot (properly run public transport that isn't awful - both bus and rail - so more Metrolink, an S-Bahn-Manchester and bus routes linking it all up) before the stick (C-charge) there's just the chance it might go the other way next time.
While Londoners whine about the Tube, bus and whatever franchise it is this week, they really do have it good and so there is no reason to use the car to go into central London unless you have a disability (Blue Badge holders don't pay) or need to carry some really heavy kit (either that'll be rare in which case it won't break the bank to pay on that odd occasion, or if it's a business it's just part of your costs to pass onto the customer).
I was being a bit tongue in cheek with the Manc CC comment.
We have been round this many times; bus patronage was indeed declining right up to 1980, but in the years immediately prior to deregulation, it was increasing in UK cities. That increasing trend continued in London, but outside London the gains of the early 80s were lost immediately in deregulation; and have never recovered.
So we ignore 25 years of decline and focus on five positive years? That's rather convenient.
Not quite au fait with the increases that you refer to nor, more importantly, what the factors that were behind the increases then? Might it have been something to do with massive rates support that was eventually the reason behind the abolition of metropolitan counties and rate capping? Certainly, the South Yorkshire max fare was about 25p which would be adjusted for inflation as being 73p now.
It is a common misconception that Britain is dominated by out of town development and sprawling low-density suburbia. A large proportion of Britain was built before the car and therefore most towns started out being very compact. Planning regulations were historically very strict until the 1980s, when a lot of car-orientated development occurred, but this was reined in by the 90s in PPG13. The incorrect perception of Britain being low density has been exploited by people who prefer car-centric transport and development policy.
It is also assumed that high density is necessary for good public transport.
The UK is indeed high density. It's a popular misconception with a broad disparity; urban areas are very urban (and should be easy to serve with public transport). You also rightly make mention of PPG13. The issue with that is it is two fold. First of all, the horse had already largely bolted by the mid 1990s in terms of PPG13. Also, it only reined in the worst excesses and so the issues of planning and public transport provision are still pretty awful. Contrast the public transport infrastructure and provision for parking in a development in Denmark and compare it to somewhere like Bicester (where I have the privilege of visiting) and it's totally different).
The difference is that planning in many Western European countries has sustainable transport at its heart. In the UK, it's more a box tick exercise rather than something embedded in the DNA.
That's a start, but when would he see us moving to a true Verbundtarif, i.e. all public transport journeys within GM being priced on the same model regardless of the mode or combination of modes used thereon?
That has to be the long-term aim.
That is clearly one area where deregulation and the competition authorities have worked against the greater good. However, we're missing much bigger points that just having a nice transferable bus ticket (and don't get me wrong, I would heartily support such moves).
On a national scale, we have had years of focus on the JAM's who are just about managing, and therefore daren't upset the motorists by increasing fuel duty. In fact, the figure was 61ppl in 2006, and was reduced being the same since 2010 at 57ppl. The cost of private motoring is considerably lower and had it gone up from then in line with inflation, the figure would be 88ppl. That at a time when bus companies' costs have continued to climb with the usual staff costs also being impacted by increased emissions targets (not reflected in private cars) AND other cost increases like pensions contributions.
Then you have issues such as poor transport infrastructure for buses in our major cities. Compare that to our European cousins. Of course, we could tackle that but instead, a massive mount (£6bn p.a) is being funnelled to road schemes.
Buses don't get priority so journey times suffer and then we make them disproportionately expensive. Oh, and we slash funding for socially necessary services. Until those fundamental issues are addressed, having a transferable bus ticket and painting buses orange are just tinkering at the edges.
Even redressing some of the inequalities of the relationship between the private car and sustainable transport would be a start. It has to be something more fundamental in terms of taxation and funding.