Edinburgh congestion charge
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The Edinburgh congestion charge (also known as Edinburgh road tolls) was a proposed scheme of
congestion pricing Congestion pricing or congestion charges is a system of surcharging users of public goods that are subject to congestion through excess demand, such as through higher peak charges for use of bus services, electricity, metros, railways, tele ...
for
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
's capital city. It planned to reduce congestion by introducing a daily charge to enter a cordon within the inner city, with the money raised directed to fund improvements in
public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...
. The scheme was the subject of intense public and political debate and ultimately rejected. A referendum was held and nearly three-quarters of respondents rejected the proposals.


Background

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
's roads radiate from the city centre, which acts as a hub for other modes of transport and facilitates through-journeys. An outer by-pass circles the east, south and western boundaries of the city, but there is neither a northern by-pass nor a recognised inner ring road to take vehicular traffic. As of 2001, Edinburgh's public transport relied on buses and taxis; there were two major (and ten minor) city train stations, no light rail system, and the tram network had been decommissioned in the 1950s. The city centre straddles seven hills; there was an off-road cycle network although there were few dedicated routes in the city centre. City commuters could use
Park and Ride A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuting, commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, Rail t ...
schemes, or several bus companies, with the largest being
Lothian Buses Lothian Buses is a major bus operator based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is the largest municipal bus company in the United Kingdom: the City of Edinburgh Council (through Transport for Edinburgh) owns 91%, Midlothian Council 5%, East Lothian ...
, formed in 2000 with
The City of Edinburgh Council The City of Edinburgh Council is the Local government in Scotland, local government authority for the city of Edinburgh, capital of Scotland. With a population of in mid-2019, it is Subdivisions of Scotland#Council areas, the second most populo ...
as its major shareholder, carrying 108 million passengers in 2006. Edinburgh's economy had been growing over the last few decades, with 34,800 more jobs predicted to be generated in the city between 2006 and 2015. This has helped to drive the local growth of car use in Edinburgh, with daily commuting trips identified as having increased by 72% between 1981 and 2001. In 2000 more
vehicle registration Motor vehicle registration is the registration of a motor vehicle with a government authority, either compulsory or otherwise. The purpose of motor vehicle registration is to establish a link between a vehicle and an owner or user of the vehicle. Th ...
s occurred in Edinburgh than anywhere else in Scotland. Congestion in the city was predicted to rise a further 25% between 2006 and 2026. Edinburgh's road network was also in need of extensive repair and refurbishment; although maintenance had been increased to £16m per annum, the backlog of outstanding work was estimated at £70m. Traffic delays and the impacts of road congestion had been estimated to cost the local economy about £20billion a year. Although its air quality was generally good, parts of Edinburgh suffered from high concentrations of
nitrogen oxide Nitrogen oxide may refer to a binary compound of oxygen and nitrogen, or a mixture of such compounds: Charge-neutral *Nitric oxide (NO), nitrogen(II) oxide, or nitrogen monoxide *Nitrogen dioxide (), nitrogen(IV) oxide * Nitrogen trioxide (), or n ...
s (NOx), mostly emitted from vehicle exhausts. Minor traffic management changes were planned to reduce this by 5% in the worst-affected areas, but an overall 40% reduction was targeted, partly by introducing a
low emission zone A low-emission zone (LEZ) is a defined area where access by some polluting vehicles is restricted or deterred with the aim of improving air quality. This may favour vehicles such as bicycles, micromobility vehicles, (certain) alternative fuel veh ...
to restrict heavy goods vehicles, partly through improved vehicle standards, and the rest through Edinburgh's 'Integrated Transport Initiative', with journeys moving to public transport as a result of congestion charging. To improve public transport, the city also considered opening up existing railway lines, currently used for freight, to carry new passenger trains, and a new tram line in South East Edinburgh. In summary, Edinburgh Council was faced with increasing issues with private and public transport, yet it had limited options, and a challenging set of finances, being limited to its annual transportation budget, along with monies collected from parking charges. Meanwhile, the
Westminster Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the Parliamentary sovereignty in the United Kingdom, supreme Legislature, legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of We ...
passed legislation expanding the range of possible methods of
taxation A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal person, legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regiona ...
for roads in the UK, notably allowing for local authorities to introduce local road use pricing schemes.
Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county *Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in No ...
introduced the first British scheme during 2002, followed by the
London congestion charge The London congestion charge is a fee charged on most cars and motor vehicles being driven within the Congestion Charge Zone (CCZ) in Central London between 7:00 am and 6:00 pm Monday to Friday, and between 12:00 noon and 6:00 pm Saturday an ...
in 2003, introduced under new powers granted to the
Mayor of London The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the 1998 Greater London Authority referendum, Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first Directly elected may ...
,
Ken Livingstone Kenneth Robert Livingstone (born 17 June 1945) is an English politician who served as the Leader of the Greater London Council (GLC) from 1981 until the council was abolished in 1986, and as Mayor of London from the creation of the office i ...
. Edinburgh chose to participate in the
Department for Transport The Department for Transport (DfT) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that have not been devolved. The d ...
's Charging Development Partnership of local authorities working considering congestion charging or workplace parking levies, and also part-funded the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
's PRoGR€SS project ('Pricing Road use for Greater Responsibility, Efficiency and Sustainability') to demonstrate and evaluate the effectiveness and acceptance of urban road pricing schemes, under the EU's CUPID European Road Pricing initiative.


Proposals

The
Transport (Scotland) Act 2001 Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, and ...
made Scottish road pricing schemes possible, and laid down the condition that all proceeds from such schemes must be spent on transport. In 2002 the
City of Edinburgh Council The City of Edinburgh Council is the local government authority for the city of Edinburgh, capital of Scotland. With a population of in mid-2019, it is the second most populous local authority area in Scotland. In its current form, the counci ...
began a consultation on future options for transport in Edinburgh. Three options were presented: * a two cordon congestion charge, * a one cordon congestion charge, or * do nothing. The scheme was seen as a possible blueprint for other areas in Scotland, with
Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
,
Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
and
Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...
awaiting the outcome of the Edinburgh scheme before making their own proposals. The initial plans envisaged a charging scheme that operated in the city centre between 0700 and 1900, Monday to Friday, starting in 2006. The intention was to use similar technologies to the London scheme, with
automatic number plate recognition Automatic number-plate recognition (ANPR; see also #Other names, other names below) is a technology that uses optical character recognition on images to read vehicle registration plates to create vehicle location data. It can use existing close ...
systems to record vehicles passing the cordon boundaries, and fines issued to those who had not paid using the
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA; cy, Asiantaeth Trwyddedu Gyrwyr a Cherbydau) is the organisation of the UK government responsible for maintaining a database of drivers in Great Britain and a database of vehicles for the entire ...
database to trace vehicles. Pre payment would be allowed as well as payment at a number of locations. Vehicles would be charged £2 to pass one of the two cordons. One would be at the
Edinburgh City Bypass The Edinburgh City Bypass, designated as A720, is one of the most important trunk roads in Scotland. Circling around the south of Edinburgh, as the equivalent of a ring road for the coastal city, it links together the A1 towards north-east Eng ...
and the other surrounding the
city centre A city centre is the commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely equivalent terms exist in other languages, such as "" in Fren ...
. There would be only one charge to enter the city centre, even if both cordons were passed or cordons were passed several times in one day. It was also proposed to block off side roads to stop
rat running Rat running (also known as rodent running, cut-through driving, or dive-bombing) is the practice by motorists of using residential side streets or any unintended short cut such as a parking lot, delivery service lane or cemetery road instead o ...
. An all-day scheme was initially projected to raise around £900 million for a central cordon only and £1.5 billion for the dual cordon option. Subject to public approval, the charge would have started in 2006, following various transport improvements. A two cordon scheme was expected to reduce congestion by up to 15% overall, with a drop of up to 85,000 journeys per day. It was projected to reduce volumes by 18 per cent in the centre and 15 per cent in the west. A one cordon scheme was projected to remove 59,000 journeys in the city centre, although there would be a small increase in the west. The cost for setting up the congestion charge was estimated at £11million for the two cordon option and £8million for the city centre cordon only proposal. Later in 2002 the council stated they would look at various options for residents' discounts, potentially discounting the charge to 20p for those eligible. In September 2002, the council confirmed the initial proposals with some variations. The outer cordon was now proposed to operate between 0700-1000 and 1600 to 1830, and the inner cordon from 0700 to 1830, although these modifications would reduce the revenues available to provide the promised transport improvements. In 2003 the concessions were reported to be worth £58million, reducing the funding for transport improvements to £900million. Costs for preparing the scheme at the end of 2003 were estimated to be £5.36million and that the council would not proceed with the scheme as a Public-private partnership.
Transport Initiatives Edinburgh Tie Ltd. (previously Transport Initiatives Edinburgh Ltd.) was a Scottish company which, from May 2002 to August 2011, project-managed large-scale transport projects on behalf of the City of Edinburgh Council in Edinburgh. It was brought in as par ...
announced £435million for public transport schemes outside of the Edinburgh council area. A consultation was initially sent to over 250,000 people in the city and surrounding areas. Neighbouring West Lothian Council were against the scheme, and sent out 72,000 newsletters to its businesses and residents, criticising the scheme. Fife Council were also concerned about its fairness on the residents of neighbouring areas who contributed to the Edinburgh economy, but had been priced out of the city by the high cost of living, and planned a study into the impact of Edinburgh's scheme on the rest of the Kingdom. Some political parties and central city traders were skeptical of the projected economics, claiming that shoppers would drive to other out of town destinations such as McArthur Glen in
Livingston Livingston may refer to: Businesses * Livingston Energy Flight, an Italian airline (2003–2010) * Livingston Compagnia Aerea, an Italian airline (2011–2014), also known as Livingston Airline * Livingston International, a North American custom ...
, shifting business away from Edinburgh. They noted that the circumstances were different from London's, which is so large that the impact upon retail and business would be less significant. Edinburgh council then sought public feedback and re-evaluated parts of the scheme's operation. A
public enquiry A tribunal of inquiry is an official review of events or actions ordered by a government body. In many common law countries, such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and Canada, such a public inquiry differs from a royal commission in that ...
opened on 27 April 2004 and lasted ten weeks. The inquiry report broadly supported the Edinburgh council's proposals, but recommended removing some of the exemptions proposed and allowing payment the day after. It also expressed concern at the implementation timetable along with the likelihood of receiving the required public transport improvements. Costs for preparing the scheme were now estimated at £8.1million. The costs were shared on a 50% basis with the Scottish Executive. The council also proposed to introduce
traffic calming Traffic calming uses physical design and other measures to improve safety for motorists, pedestrians and bicycle-friendly, cyclists. It has become a tool to combat speeding and other unsafe behaviours of drivers in the neighbourhoods. It aims ...
measures including
speed hump Speed bumps (also called traffic thresholds, speed breakers or sleeping policemen) are the common name for a class of traffic calming devices that use vertical deflection to slow motor-vehicle traffic in order to improve safety conditions. Varia ...
s, road closures, and one way roads to stop rat running by drivers trying to avoid the congestion charge. The final proposals had the outer cordon operating during the morning rush hour with the inner one from 0700 to 1830, both from Monday to Friday. At this stage, the council said that the scheme would raise around £50 million a year to fund improvements in public transport, amounting to £760m over 20 years. It was hoped that this money would fund a range of new transport projects: * 3 tram networks serving north, west, and south east Edinburgh * 5 or 6 Park & Ride sites around Edinburgh * new rail services, reopening of some former passenger service routes in Edinburgh, and new links to Fife, East and West Lothian * more frequent bus services and new orbital bus routes * improvements at major transport interchanges * live information displays at bus stops and other public places * city centre environmental and pedestrian improvements * an expansion of bicycle routes * 20 mph speed limits and traffic calming across all residential areas * road maintenance


Reaction

When the initial consultation was launched, there was initial opposition and support for a congestion charge scheme. Transform Scotland, a transport pressure group, supported the two cordon scheme.
Friends of the Earth Scotland ' Friends of the Earth Scotland (FoE Scotland) is a Scottish charity and an independent member of the Friends of the Earth International network of 73 environmental organisations. It is one of the 30 national organisations that Friends of the Ear ...
also welcomed the proposals as they believed they would reduce air pollution and improve the city environment. The
Princes Street Princes Street ( gd, Sràid nam Prionnsan) is one of the major thoroughfares in central Edinburgh, Scotland and the main shopping street in the capital. It is the southernmost street of Edinburgh's New Town, stretching around 1.2 km (three ...
association opposed the scheme, stating that businesses in the city centre would be put at a competitive disadvantage. Two public surveys in March 2002 had shown opposition to a charging scheme from 75% of
suburban A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...
Edinburgh residents and 64% across the whole city. Scottish Executive support was anticipated, but the Executive stated that it was up to
local authorities Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...
to propose schemes. The AA Scotland stated its opposition to the scheme. The
hospitality industry The hospitality industry is a broad category of fields within the service industry that includes lodging, food and drink service, event planning, theme parks, travel and tourism. It includes hotels, tourism agencies, restaurants and bars. Sector ...
supported the scheme, subject to improved public transport.
Fife Council Fife Council is the local authority for the Fife area of Scotland and is the third largest Scottish council, with 75 elected council members. Councillors are generally elected every five years. At the 2012 election there were 78 councillors ele ...
announced a report into the impact onto their area, whilst
West Lothian Council West Lothian Council is the local authority for the council area of West Lothian in Scotland. History West Lothian District Council was created in 1975 as one of four districts within the Lothian region. The West Lothian district took its name f ...
opposed the outer cordon as a penalty on commuters into Edinburgh. Concern was also expressed that the DVLA would not be able to trace 1 in 12 of those not paying. The proposals became part of the
political debate Political criticism (also referred to as political commentary or political discussion) is criticism that is specific of or relevant to politics, including policies, politicians, political parties, and types of government. See also *Bad Subjects * ...
in Scotland. The
Scottish Conservatives The Scottish Conservative & Unionist Party ( gd, Pàrtaidh Tòraidheach na h-Alba, sco, Scots Tory an Unionist Pairty), often known simply as the Scottish Conservatives and colloquially as the Scottish Tories, is a centre-right political par ...
argued that the scheme was not about congestion but about raising money and the
Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; sco, Scots National Pairty, gd, Pàrtaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic political party in Scotland. The SNP supports and campaigns for Scottish independence from ...
campaigned against the charge and made it an issue in the 2003 local elections. The
Scottish Greens The Scottish Greens (also known as the Scottish Green Party; gd, Pàrtaidh Uaine na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Green Pairtie) are a green political party in Scotland. The party has seven MSPs in the Scottish Parliament as of May 2021. As of the 20 ...
supported the congestion charge. The ruling
Scottish Labour Party Scottish Labour ( gd, Pàrtaidh Làbarach na h-Alba, sco, Scots Labour Pairty; officially the Scottish Labour Party) is a social democratic political party in Scotland. It is an autonomous section of the UK Labour Party. From their peak o ...
lost a significant number of votes at a September 2002 council by election (slipping from second to fourth place) with participants claiming that the proposed congestion charge had been a factor. On Edinburgh City Council, the opposition parties of the Scottish Conservatives,
Scottish Liberal Democrats The Scottish Liberal Democrats ( gd, Pàrtaidh Libearal Deamocratach na h-Alba, sco, Scots Leeberal Democrats) is a liberal, federalist political party in Scotland, a part of the United Kingdom Liberal Democrats. The party currently holds 4 o ...
and the Scottish National Party all opposed the plans. The Liberal Democrats had supported road charging in the
Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyro ...
. The Scottish Transport Minister,
Iain Gray Iain Cumming Gray (born 7 June 1957) is a Scottish politician who served as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2008 to 2011. He was the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the East Lothian constituency from 2007 to 2021, having ...
, announced government support in principle for the scheme in December 2002, subject to the residents of Edinburgh supporting the scheme. A referendum was offered by the city council, which unlike the original consultation, would be restricted to the residents of the
City of Edinburgh council area The City of Edinburgh Council is the local government authority for the city of Edinburgh, capital of Scotland. With a population of in mid-2019, it is the second most populous local authority area in Scotland. In its current form, the counci ...
. The councils surrounding Edinburgh - West Lothian, Fife and
Midlothian Midlothian (; gd, Meadhan Lodainn) is a historic county, registration county, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east-central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinburgh, ...
- opposed the scheme. Mid Lothian circulated leaflets encouraging their residents to actively oppose the plans. In February 2005, these three councils were permitted to bring a petition to have the scheme declared unlawful in the
Court of Session The Court of Session is the supreme civil court of Scotland and constitutes part of the College of Justice; the supreme criminal court of Scotland is the High Court of Justiciary. The Court of Session sits in Parliament House in Edinburgh ...
. They argued that the concessions for residents of the Edinburgh council area who lived further away than some of their residents from the capital, made the scheme unfair. Further they also asked for a declaration that the City of Edinburgh council had acted unlawfully in not taking on board the recommendations of the public enquiry and that there were not legal powers to fund public transport beyond the city boundaries.
Scottish Borders Council Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
also opposed the scheme and wanted the referendum extended to their residents. Following the introduction of the London congestion charge, Professor David Begg, chair of the Commission for Integrated Transport, cited the reported of that success as a reason to go ahead with the Edinburgh scheme. Two groups were set up to campaign for the introduction of the charge and a yes vote in the referendum, Yes to Edinburgh and Get Edinburgh Moving. Opposed to the charge were Edinburgh Communities Against Congestion Charging, retail businesses and the National Alliance Against Tolls. The
John Lewis Partnership The John Lewis Partnership plc (JLP) is a British company which operates John Lewis & Partners department stores, Waitrose & Partners supermarkets, its banking and financial services, and other retail-related activities. The privately-held publ ...
, owners of a department store in central Edinburgh, called for reduced charging hours in the city centre to reduce the impact on
retail Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and t ...
shops and improvements to the public transport system before the charge began. The Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce was joined by the
Freight Transport Association Logistics UK, formerly the Freight Transport Association (FTA) is one of the largest trade associations in the UK, with members moving goods by road, rail, sea, and air. Its mission is to represent the views and interests of over 18,000 companie ...
in requesting that all commercial vehicles be exempted, arguing that
businesses Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or buying and selling products (such as goods and services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for profit." Having a business name does not separat ...
would have to pass on their increased costs to
consumer A consumer is a person or a group who intends to order, or uses purchased goods, products, or services primarily for personal, social, family, household and similar needs, who is not directly related to entrepreneurial or business activities. T ...
s or leave the city altogether. An early 2004 survey by the Chamber of Commerce had 90% of respondents rejecting the proposed scheme with two-thirds against
road pricing Road pricing (also road user charges) are direct charges levied for the use of roads, including road tolls, distance or time-based fees, congestion charges and charges designed to discourage the use of certain classes of vehicle, fuel sour ...
as a matter of principle. Initial results from the consultation showed that amongst respondents half supported a city centre cordon, but 44% supported the outer cordon. Concern was expressed on rat runs and local air quality in parts of north Edinburgh if only a city centre cordon was introduced. A survey organised by Mid Lothian council showed 98% of residents were opposed to the scheme. In the run up to the referendum, the council proposed an independent monitoring board for the scheme and possible abolition after two years if it did not work.


Referendum

A
referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
was organised by the City of Edinburgh Council and conducted by
postal ballot An absentee ballot is a vote cast by someone who is unable or unwilling to attend the official polling station to which the voter is normally allocated. Methods include voting at a different location, postal voting, proxy voting and online votin ...
from 7 February 2005 until 21 February 2005. The referendum cost £600,000. The question asked in the Edinburgh road tolls referendum was: ''"The leaflet enclosed with this ballot paper gives information on the Council's transport proposals for Edinburgh. The Council's 'preferred' strategy includes congestion charging and increased transport investment funded by it. Do you support the Council's 'preferred' strategy?"'' There was concern that the referendum forms were confusing. A dedicated council
help line A helpline, or switchboard, is a telephone service which offers help to those who call. Many helpline services now offer more than telephone support - offering access to information, advice or customer service via telephone, email, web or SMS. ...
received 943 calls in one day. There were complaints that the question was biased, referring to the council's "preferred" strategy and there were concerns expressed by some political parties that the information leaflet enclosed with the form would also add to the confusion. Around 30,000 residents who had stated a preference not to receive junk mail on the
electoral register An electoral roll (variously called an electoral register, voters roll, poll book or other description) is a compilation that lists persons who are entitled to vote for particular elections in a particular jurisdiction. The list is usually broke ...
form could not be sent a ballot form. On 22 February 2005 the result was announced, with the majority rejecting the proposals. With a turnout of 61.7% (179,643 votes) from a potential electorate of 300,000, there were 133,678 votes against and 45,965 in favour. The rejections amounted to 74.4% of the votes cast.


Aftermath

The council accepted the results of the referendum and did not implement their proposals. A final bill of £9million was put on the development of the proposals. The
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
select committee on transport suggested that the rejection of the scheme would delay plans to introduce other schemes in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
. Although the costs of the public transport schemes are still politically contentious at a local and Scottish level, the council continued to spend money on the
Edinburgh tram network Edinburgh Trams is a tramway in Edinburgh, Scotland, operated by Edinburgh Trams Ltd. It is a line between St Andrew Square in the New Town and Edinburgh Airport, with 15 stops. Construction began in June 2008, and after encountering delays ...
, buses, and new
park and ride A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuting, commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, Rail t ...
schemes. In retrospect, Transport Initiatives Edinburgh noted that, although there was agreement that congestion needed to be contained, there had been clear public opposition to the concept of road pricing as a direct traffic restraint measure. The failure to achieve support they attributed to a range of factors: * lack of consistent political will * a distrust of the motives of the authority * an absence of a powerful champion for the scheme * significant stakeholder opposition * a commitment to a popular referendum * a difference in perception between the 'transport professionals' and the stakeholders. Edinburgh's scheme designers were attempting to introduce a road pricing mechanism as a proxy for making road users pay the full marginal cost for their journeys, while public opinion was that congestion came about because the alternatives to car travel were not viable, yet the schemes showed no commitments to investment in alternatives before road pricing would start.


See also

*
Motoring taxation in the United Kingdom Motoring taxation in the United Kingdom consists primarily of vehicle excise duty (commonly known as VED, vehicle tax, car tax, and road tax), which is levied on vehicles registered in the UK, and hydrocarbon oil duty (normally referred to as f ...
*
Manchester congestion charge The Greater Manchester congestion charge was part of a bid to the Government's Transport Innovation Fund for a £3-billion package of transport funding and the introduction of a road congestion charge for Greater Manchester, a metropolitan cou ...
*
Durham City congestion charge The Durham City congestion charge was the first congestion charge to be introduced in the UK in October 2002. Durham County Council introduced the toll for drivers using 1,000-year-old Saddler Street in the city centre which stands on the pe ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edinburgh Congestion Charge Referendums in Scotland 2005 in Scotland 2005 referendums 2005 Scottish local elections Politics of Edinburgh Road transport in Scotland Taxation in Scotland Transport in Edinburgh Road congestion charge schemes in the United Kingdom Economy of Edinburgh 2000s in Edinburgh