Feeling Congested..

There's been a lot in the papers and on TV regarding the congestion charge being brought to Manchester. This charge (or 'going to work tax' as I prefer to call it) is just one big con. Set rubber inside of the M60 and you will have to pay up to £50 per week. The inside of the M60 covers 100 Square miles, so I am to believe, that's a lot of payments.
So where is all this extra cash going to? Well, the council say it will go towards better public transport so lets look at said public transport.
The tram system had a makeover last year to put in new rails, trams are meant to run 6 mins apart during peak times and 12 mins apart off peak, so why have I had to wait 30 and 45 mins for a tram on my last two visits to Manchester.
How can they improve on this? Well, stop breaking down for one. If the system is to be improved during peak times how will they do this? Putting on extra trams? making it a tram every 3 minutes is asking for trouble and will lead to tram congestion. Putting on extra carraiges won't work either as some of the platforms will not be long enough and there would be problems negotiating Manchester city centre.
Will someone also point out that a monthly Bus/tram ticket should go from date to date and not run for just 4 weeks. If you get paid monthly and pay for it on pay day you suddenly find yourself needing another one just a couple of days before the next payday, fix this now.
Now for the buses. I travel mainly in north Manchester mostly with a company who's name rhymes with 'worstbus'. They have highly skilled drivers, one I saw recently could drive the bus while eating an apple, talking on her hands free kit with a newspaper propped on the stearing wheel.
Why do people not want to travel by bus? Well, my biggest hate and one I have fell foul of is chewing gum on the seat, need I say more.
The next is school kids at full noise level. I don't want to know who's 19 year old brother got his sisters 12 year old friend pregnant, though I am sure there are people in office who would like to know. There is no need for all the swearing and throwing of free newspapers at each other. They should make members of staff from the schools police these routes just to see what goes on.
Next, moble phone MP3 players. They sound rubbish and these people got ripped off when they bought the phone because mine came with headphones.
Next, food on buses. It's not just the smell, well, sometimes it is when the person behind you is eating a burger and chips on a packed bus, its the mess as well. I hate people who drop litter just anywhere and sometime actually at the side of a bin instead of in it. Though some people think a bus is just one big litter bin.
As for the service itself, well it's just rubbish. I have been know to spend over two hours travelling a 12 mile journey on a supposedly high frequency route, most of this time used up waiting at bus stops. Buses get cancelled but the public are not allowed to know this so they can't plan alternative routes. Last year Worstbus brought in the best service ever with the introduction of the X35, a high speed motorway using service into the centre of Manchester. This service was so good they cancelled it after a few short months. I was not going back to 2 hour journeys so we bought a car. thanks for the incentive Worstbus. Let's not forget the record breaking inflation busting ticket price rises every few months.
I believe that in Edinburgh bus ticket prices are capped at £1 per journey. Now that is an incentive to leave to car at home and take the bus, affordable publc transport.
So, what is the £3 billion of tax payers money that is meant to be used on improving the transport system going to be spent on, bus lanes? I can't think of anything else, but if you don't have a bus lane that goes all the way into the city centre instead of just the odd couple of hundred yards this is not going to help.
London introduced the going to work tax a while ago, has anyone got any feedback on how the money from this has improved services and got people to work on time?
What else could the money be spent on? I know. Give me the money and I will travel to far off exotic places for weeks at a time, staying in top hotels all in the name of research to see how other countries cope with this problem.
Or has someone on the council already thought of this. I bet they have.