Edinburgh in ad agency hunt for introduction of C-charge
Transport Initiative Edinburgh (TIE), the organisation responsible for developing a traffic congestion charge scheme for Edinburgh, is on the hunt for an advertising agency to handle its multi-million pound advertising and marketing.
TIE, set up by Edinburgh City Council, is looking for an agency to carry out a four-year marketing initiative. The agency’s appointment is being overseen by TIE project integration manager John Saunders.
Transport for London, which launched congestion charging in the capital in February this year, allocated &£12.7m to five months’ marketing and advertising activity. TBWA/London handles the advertising account.
Edinburgh’s congestion charge has been approved in principle by the council, but will have to be voted on in a public referendum. The plan is to charge motorists &£2 a day to cross the city centre – the equivalent charge in London is &£5.
The Edinburgh charge is expected to be introduced in 2006 and detailed traffic orders should be published by autumn this year.
Transport Secretary Alistair Darling is the Labour MP for Edinburgh Central and a keen advocate of traffic reduction by way of charging. He warned last week that the introduction of “road pricing” at peak times, such as school runs and rush hours, was inevitable.
