You'll have read that Greater Manchester's planned charge would apply to private-hire taxis, but not Hackney carriages. And the upper daily limit would be £10 a day, not the £5 a day most of us thought.

These are both fairly controversial proposals. There is no real philosophical justification for giving a full discount to a cab driver just because he or she can be hailed in the street, and can legally use bus lanes. Private-hire drivers may lack these legal privileges, but they play just as big a role in getting people out of their cars. Often, when I am going out with friends, we will get a private-hire taxi into town (it's very difficult to find a black cab where I live), and then a Hackney carriage back. Both provide the same basic service.

As for the suggestion that people will try to dodge the charge by registering their cars as private-hire vehicles, I don't see how that is feasible. Minicabs require licences too, and it is possible to attach stringent conditions. Manchester council, for example, has stipulated that all private-hire vehicles must be silver or white, and have prominent council-approved signage.

Anyway, here's the cynical thought. Say I am a proponent of the TIF bid. I know I have to have three months of public consulation. I don't want a conurbation-wide referendum on the principle of congestion charging (I might well lose); in fact I don't particularly want the debate to focus on the principle of congestion charging at all. What I want is to get people thinking about the details of the bid, and asking questions like: Should private-hire taxis be offered discounts? Should motorbikes? Should there be a maximum charge, and if so what should it be?

Because all those questions assume that there will be a congestion charge. And if, after three months consultation, I respond to lobbying by deciding I will offer discounts to private-hire drivers after all… well that just shows that I listened, doesn't it?

Incidentally, on the issue of the £10 a day cap… Sir Richard Leese claimed yesterday that no one had ever promised, or even implied, that £5 a day (at 2007 prices) would be the maximum charge. I said I disagreed, and I still do.

http://blogs.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/politics/2008/06/post_318.html