Road Charging proposed across Cambridge
Discussion
Cambridge Council are proposing to charge £5 a day to drive pretty much anywhere in Cambridge.
The charge will apply 7am-7pm Mon-Fri, and is planned to be phased in from 2026. The charging zone is pretty much all of Cambridge including the residential suburbs of Chesterton, Trumpington, Cherry Hinton etc. All mopeds/motorbikes, cars, vans, buses and lorries will be charged regardless of cleanliness, EVs included.
This isn’t targeted at reducing congestion or pollution, but is simply a way for the council to establish a revenue stream they can control, initially to further subsidise the bus network. This is clear from the broad scope of the charge - the whole city, all day every weekday, and all vehicles including EVs.
Shaded area is the charging zone, pretty much the whole city.
I think this is bad news. It’s basically setting a precedent that if any council wants to raise money, they can erect virtual toll booths around the area they control, and charge anyone who drives into it. If they later decide they’d like a bit more money for whatever purpose, no problem, just put up the charge, expand the area, or the charging hours, just as London’s congestion charge has expanded from five to seven days a week. The motorist is simply the convenient cash cow, to be milked for money whenever the council would rather not take tough decisions about reducing their spending. The proliferation of such charging zones across the country takes us back to the days of the turnpike trusts, paying a new toll every time you drive across a boundary.
Aside from the reduction of freedom there’s also a loss of privacy as your every trip is recorded, bureaucracy to deal with, the impact on the lower paid who have to live further out and have more need to drive, discouragement of trade and tourism, etc etc.
Anyway, if you have opinions on this road charging you can tell ‘Greater Cambridge Partnership’ what you think of their plan here https://consultcambs.uk.engagementhq.com/making-co...
It’ll affect everyone who visits Cambridge, not just residents, so anyone can complete it.
I have to admit I’m optimistic that a strong public response objecting to this new tax will cause our elected representatives to think again.
The charge will apply 7am-7pm Mon-Fri, and is planned to be phased in from 2026. The charging zone is pretty much all of Cambridge including the residential suburbs of Chesterton, Trumpington, Cherry Hinton etc. All mopeds/motorbikes, cars, vans, buses and lorries will be charged regardless of cleanliness, EVs included.
This isn’t targeted at reducing congestion or pollution, but is simply a way for the council to establish a revenue stream they can control, initially to further subsidise the bus network. This is clear from the broad scope of the charge - the whole city, all day every weekday, and all vehicles including EVs.
Shaded area is the charging zone, pretty much the whole city.
I think this is bad news. It’s basically setting a precedent that if any council wants to raise money, they can erect virtual toll booths around the area they control, and charge anyone who drives into it. If they later decide they’d like a bit more money for whatever purpose, no problem, just put up the charge, expand the area, or the charging hours, just as London’s congestion charge has expanded from five to seven days a week. The motorist is simply the convenient cash cow, to be milked for money whenever the council would rather not take tough decisions about reducing their spending. The proliferation of such charging zones across the country takes us back to the days of the turnpike trusts, paying a new toll every time you drive across a boundary.
Aside from the reduction of freedom there’s also a loss of privacy as your every trip is recorded, bureaucracy to deal with, the impact on the lower paid who have to live further out and have more need to drive, discouragement of trade and tourism, etc etc.
Anyway, if you have opinions on this road charging you can tell ‘Greater Cambridge Partnership’ what you think of their plan here https://consultcambs.uk.engagementhq.com/making-co...
It’ll affect everyone who visits Cambridge, not just residents, so anyone can complete it.
I have to admit I’m optimistic that a strong public response objecting to this new tax will cause our elected representatives to think again.
I'm not familiar enough with the area to know from that map, but if the charging zone encompasses all of the Park & Rides, then that's some proper money grabbing 
I don't visit Cambridge so much any more, but it's always been an awful place to drive, and I've always just used the Park & Ride service. They've made it clear for a long time that they only want cyclists anywhere near the place (same as Oxford).
I don't visit Cambridge so much any more, but it's always been an awful place to drive, and I've always just used the Park & Ride service. They've made it clear for a long time that they only want cyclists anywhere near the place (same as Oxford).
That covers an enormous area, way beyond the real city centre - presumably because that's already a no-go place for cars. But seriously - the airport?!
I woonder whether they've thought about all the money they'll lose from the exhorbitant pay and display parking in Cambridge when people decide not to drive in once this is implemented.
And it'll give other anti-car councils ideas - the crazies in St Albans would love this.
I woonder whether they've thought about all the money they'll lose from the exhorbitant pay and display parking in Cambridge when people decide not to drive in once this is implemented.
And it'll give other anti-car councils ideas - the crazies in St Albans would love this.
clive_candy said:
Why isn't this national news? The intention to include motorcycles and mopeds on the grounds 'they raise potential risks in terms of safety, noise and conflicts with cyclists' is beyond a joke.
They opened up consultation on the subject of allowing motorcycles to use bus lanes, there were very few objections ( a handful) but the majority of those were based on safety; one genius stated that "motorcycles were the same mass as cars" so it endangered cyclists due to close proximity and speed differential… now it doesn’t take much to debunk, given the lightest production car is significantly heavier than the heaviest production motorcycle but this is the kind of mindless s
t that the council use to justify decisions. They are slowly killing business in Cambridge: mill road closures, capacity reduction in Trumpington street and east road, excessive car parking charges…. Much cheaper to visit other nearby towns and cities for shopping, cinema, theatre, nights out etc etc (I’m about 10 miles out); I live in Cambridge, not far form the train station and mill road. For me this is a pain in the backside, but I can work from home and a couple of trips to the officer per month won't be an issue.
For my son, who will be 17 next year, this will massively curtail his freedoms.
For my elderly neighbour, who uses his car for everything from shopping to going to bowls, to taking the dog to the vets, this is an awful, awful thing to happen. he's really upset about it.
All the traders I've spoken to think they'll have to close if this is implemented.
Something needs to be done about congestion in Cambridge, but this is not it.
For my son, who will be 17 next year, this will massively curtail his freedoms.
For my elderly neighbour, who uses his car for everything from shopping to going to bowls, to taking the dog to the vets, this is an awful, awful thing to happen. he's really upset about it.
All the traders I've spoken to think they'll have to close if this is implemented.
Something needs to be done about congestion in Cambridge, but this is not it.
Here's the swing from Labour to the Conservatives across the city - pretty remarkable that the Conservatives gained ground over Labour in every ward of the city, particularly given the national results.
https://twitter.com/PhilRodgers/status/16544916528...
The difference between what would have been expected based on national trends, and the reality of every ward swinging from Lab to Con as above, is a fairly strong signal of opposition to the proposed road charging.
The swing didn't lead to any seats changing hands (although my local Lab councillor hung on by 63 votes), so it's more of a 'warning shot' for the council. I suspect that should they proceed stubbornly ahead with their plans, opposition will only grow as the 2026 imposition date comes nearer.
There has been a lot of talk lately about the plans not going ahead "in their current form", which of course could mean anything or nothing - I guess we'll see what they put forward next.
https://twitter.com/PhilRodgers/status/16544916528...
The difference between what would have been expected based on national trends, and the reality of every ward swinging from Lab to Con as above, is a fairly strong signal of opposition to the proposed road charging.
The swing didn't lead to any seats changing hands (although my local Lab councillor hung on by 63 votes), so it's more of a 'warning shot' for the council. I suspect that should they proceed stubbornly ahead with their plans, opposition will only grow as the 2026 imposition date comes nearer.
There has been a lot of talk lately about the plans not going ahead "in their current form", which of course could mean anything or nothing - I guess we'll see what they put forward next.
Good news, it seems that the council have had a change of heart and have dropped the plans after discovering just how wildly unpopular they are
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshi...
it doesn't mean there road charging is completely ruled out forever, but these specific proposals seem pretty dead.
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