Caerphilly’s Assembly Member and Member of Parliament have called on Cardiff Council to reconsider its plans to charge non-Cardiff residents to drive into the capital.
Cardiff Council has announced a £2 ‘congestion charge’ in order to meet environmental targets and cut road congestion.
But fears have been expressed that the move could be a “tax on Valley commuters” and that public transport needs to be “improved” before such a measure is introduced.
Caerphilly AM Hefin David said: “Welsh Government has declared a climate emergency and it is quite right that Welsh local authorities are looking at ways in which they can help address this, by encouraging that all-important ‘modal shift’ from private car to public transport.
“However, this will become a tax on valley commuters if a charge is even considered before our public transport infrastructure is significantly improved.
“I have spent a great deal of time since being elected to the Assembly campaigning on rail and bus issues, and so far improvements have been slow.”
Dr David AM added: “I have every confidence in Welsh Government, Transport for Wales and local authorities to effectively deliver the South Wales Metro and transform the public transport landscape in the Cardiff Capital Region.
“However, proposals like this made without wider consultation understandably make people in Caerphilly very concerned that they will be paying a new tax with no benefit in return”.
Caerphilly MP Wayne David said: “Cardiff Council are in danger of putting the cart before the horse.
“Before any radical policy is introduced, like the introduction of a congestion charge, there needs to be full consultation with the public representatives and local authorities of the surrounding area.
“I urge Cardiff Council to go back to the drawing board and open a constructive dialogue with all those who would be affected by such a policy.”
Welsh transport minster Ken Skates AM has written to Cardiff Council’s leadership, urging them to consider the needs of the wider Cardiff Capital Region, of which Caerphilly is part.
Cardiff Council’s cabinet member for transport, Cllr Caro Wild said: “Any money raised by a possible road user charge in Cardiff won’t just be ploughed back into Cardiff schemes. We are very clear about the need to improve public transport options across the whole of south east Wales.”
Cllr Wild also called for an “open and frank discussion” about how improvements can be funded, and said the congestion charge would benefit people “far beyond Cardiff’s boundaries”.
Cllr Wild added: “Currently, 100,000 people commute into Cardiff daily with 80,000 of them in cars and many travelling alone. This causes serious congestion and ill-health consequences in the city.
“It’s not as if Cardiff residents are not being affected. People in Cardiff already fund infrastructure in the city that people from outside the city travel on. They’re also paying for it in terms of air pollution, congested roads and other health outcomes.”