The government has backed in principle plans to introduce a congestion charge in Manchester as part of a far-reaching package of improvements in public transport.

In a bid to tackle the city’s growing volume of traffic, the scheme has been proposed by the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA), and involves introducing congestion charges for motorists driving into and out of the city centre. The scheme will apply to the busiest roads in the morning and evening rush-hour periods, and could amount to £5 per journey – £2 to enter an outer cordon around the M60 (which encircles the city), another £1 to journey into the centre and a further £1 to leave each of the zones.

Motorists will pay nothing outside of the two busiest periods, and even within those periods no fee will be charged for journeys which do not pass a charging point.

Certain groups – such as essential services vehicles – would be exempt from the charge,  while others – such as vulnerable groups and delivery drivers – would either receive a discount or pay a capped rate.

Besides reducing congestion and the growing demand for road space in the city centre, a chief aim of the scheme is to raise money to help pay for improvements to public transport. The city hopes to get £1 billion from the Transport Innovation Fund (TIF), and borrow a further £2 billion from it, as part of a much larger transport plan for Greater Manchester, which, besides the congestion charge, includes extending the Metrolink tram system by 22 miles, increasing train and bus services, and a number of other improvements. The government, which has already approved the scheme in principle, said it would contribute £1.5 billion towards the package of new measures.

Not surprisingly, the proposal was not welcomed by motoring groups, who see it as just the start of a slippery slope towards more and more charges for drivers. The Manchester Against Road Tolls (MART) group said that the day of the announcement was “a bad day for drivers all over Britain”, and the group has launched a number of petitions against the scheme throughout Greater Manchester.

The proposal will go through a public consultation phase before being put to the government for official approval, and could be in place by 2012.