Journey times increase

JOURNEY times across Oldham have got worse in the last two years — while the rest of Greater Manchester has seen an improvement.

According to the Department for Transport it takes drivers an average of two minutes, 50 seconds, to travel a mile across the borough, up five seconds from 2006/07 and up two seconds from 2007/08.

Eight council areas across the region recorded falls in the average journey time with Stockport seeing a 19-second decrease per mile.

It was three seconds on average quicker per mile in Tameside than two years ago and four seconds in neighbouring Rochdale.

There was no change in Salford travelling times over the two-year period.

Despite Oldham’s increase, it means congestion has fallen across Greater Manchester since the public voted overwhelmingly against introducing a congestion charge in the region.

Nearly two million people were asked to decide on a peak-time road charge to open up a £2.8bn transport investment.

More than 54 per cent of Oldhamer’s voted against the plans.

The DfT report also shows the average number of miles travelled per journey by Greater Manchester drivers fell by 4 per cent in the two years.

The figures look at congestion in 10 areas, including London.

The report states: “Seven out of the 10 urban areas have experienced a decrease in congestion by two per cent or more, as measured by person journey times.

“None of the 10 urban areas have experienced an increase in congestion.”

A Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive spokesman said: “It is widely accepted that the current economic situation is impacting on traffic levels across the UK.”