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Manchester City Council's chief executive has told a meeting of haulage operators that a decision has not yet been made over whether or not they will be included in its congestion charge plans. The announcement by Sir Howard Bernstein has surprised the Road Haulage Association (RHA) because it had lodged a formal objection to the city's plans to charge trucks more than cars if it was successful  in getting government funding for the scheme.

The 10 councils of Greater Manchester want the government to provide £1.2bn from the Transport Innovation Fund, which would be invested in trams, trains, buses and a peak-hour congestion charge of around £5 a day. The RHA's Edna Gill says the council will find out shortly if it has been successful. Referring to the meeting, she says:

"It gave [Sir Howard] an opportunity to meet the local hauliers in the Greater Manchester area. He said a decision hadn't been made as to charges for goods vehicles. Everyone in the audience assumed a charge would be placed for them. In the preliminary bid there was an indication that goods vehicles were going to be charged more, due to the road space they use."

Last week, Norwich abandoned plans to introduce a congestion charge because research showed it wouldn't raise enough money. A Manchester City Council spokesman says: "We are confident that the scheme being proposed for Greater  Manchester will raise the required funds to pay for the investment in public transport.

"If the bid is approved, we will then launch a period of public consultation that will run for approximately 15 weeks throughout the summer."