They’ve made their cases, now it’s up to the public to decide...

Who will win next month’s referendum on Greater Manchester’s £2.76bn transport improvement and congestion charging package? Andrew Forster takes the temperature

By Andrew Forster

28 November 2008

Clockwise from top left: A No poster near Manchester Piccadilly; a Yes poster on the ceiling of a Stagecoach bus; No posters greet motorists arriving at the Trafford Centre out-of-town shopping complex; and a Yes campaign poster on the Chester Road explains one of the benefits of the transport package

Residents of Greater Manchester this week received voting documentation for the referendum on the conurbation’s multi-billion pound Transport Innovation Fund (TIF) package. A ‘yes’ vote will see a £2.76bn transport investment package of new Metrolink lines, better bus and rail services introduced, together with a twin cordon peak time congestion charge from 2013 – itself costing a hefty £318m of the budget to implement. A ‘no’ vote will not...