uRandom

Fri 21st Nov 2008 @ 00:23 2008: Manchester's proposed Congestion Charge

I had a look at the Q&A (FAQ) for the proposed (apparently inevitable) Congestion Charge in the Greater Manchester area today. The idea is not dissimilar to the London Congestion Charge, except that the London version applies to about 8 square miles, whilst the Manchester version will apply to about 80 square miles. Strangely, it has received significantly less media coverage than the London version.


As the Manchester version covers its motorway ring-road (the M60), the London equivalent would be a daily charge (in the order of £5 to £8) to enter the inside of the M25. That is (as noted below) at 2007 prices... why they quote 2007 prices for a scheme due to arrive in 2013 is left as an exercise for the reader.

We have been promised that hugely improved public transport will have been provided before any charging comes in place, so we will not need to use our cars anyway. The FAQ (apart from constantly referring to 2007 prices), includes this succession of gems:

7. When would the investment and charging be introduced?
The improvements in public transport would begin to be in place from 2010. Almost all of the improvements will be in place by the summer of 2013, the earliest that congestion charging could be introduced.

8. How can we be sure that the improvements would be in place before charging is introduced?
AGMA (the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities) has insisted that at least 80% of transport improvements are in place before congestion charging can be introduced.

9. How much congestion would be reduced by the proposals?
It is estimated that traffic levels would fall immediately by 10-15% from the date when a charge is introduced.

Fri 7th Nov 2008 @ 23:01 2008: European Commission publishes guidelines on the procurement of FOSS

Martin Michlmayr blogs about the OSOR: http://www.cyrius.com/journal/fossbazaar/osor-foss-procurement-guidelines

The Open Source Repository and Observatory (OSOR), a new site sponsored by the European Commission to foster the exchange of FOSS related information and software among European public administrations, recently published guidelines on the procurement of open source software.