Anger over hike in charges on Severn crossings
TOLLS on the Severn crossings went up to £6.20 yesterday – an inflation-busting 3.3 per cent rise.
Cars travelling from England to Wales on the M4 and M48 crossings will now be charged £6.20 – up from £6.
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The cost for vans and minibuses has risen from £12.10 to £12.40 (2.5 per cent), and from £18.10 to £18.60 (2.8 per cent) for lorries and coaches.
Motorists pay to enter Wales, while driving into England is free, with no toll booths on the eastbound carriageways.
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Campaigner John Warman, from the Campaign Against Severn Tolls (Cast), said that the above-inflation rise was "ridiculous" and "unjust".
He said: "The way it is going it won't be long before it reaches the £10 mark. I remember not long ago when we reached the psychological barrier of handing over a £5 note, and then it was £6 and now it's £6.20. It's ridiculous.
"To have an above-inflation rise at a time when people are suffering is totally unacceptable."
A recent report found the crossing had a yearly income of £72 million but running costs of just £15 million.
The Westminster Welsh Affairs committee has previously suggested the toll could be as low as £1.50 per car for the bridges to remain self-financing
In Scotland, tolls on the Skye Bridge and the Forth Road Bridge have been scrapped.
The bridge will transfer into public ownership in 2017.
A Welsh Government spokesman said: "We do not control the tolls — the UK Government does.
"That's why we have called on the UK Government to open discussions with us on the arrangements governing the Severn crossings after 2018, with one option being the Welsh Government taking full control of the tolling regime.
"Were this to happen, the First Minister has already indicated that we would look to reduce the tolls."
Comments
by emmaw86
Wednesday, January 02 2013, 10:46PM
“Not only have the prices gone up but they've also installed flat card machines that due to the barrier around them/leaving enough gap between wing mirror and barrier etc are near on impossible to reach without opening car door or actually getting out. Not a problem for the occassional traveller but irritating if you use the bridge frequently!”
by HarveyNix
Wednesday, January 02 2013, 7:21PM
“Happy to slumber on. They should have built a wall not a bridge”
by ashleyvale
Wednesday, January 02 2013, 5:13PM
“by DockLobster
"It's only 20p, hardly inflation bustin'!
I'm sure the petrol costs involved in not using the bridge have risen by a far higher percentage.
Chill out..."
UK bridge/tunnel tolls
Dartford Tunnel £2
Mersey Tunnel £1.50
Humber Bridge £1.50
Tamar Bridge £1.50
Erskine Bridge £0
Tay Bridge £0
Skye Bridge £0
Forth Road Bridge £0
Severn Bridges £6.20 and rising each year, but just chill out and suck it up”
by nickthompson
Wednesday, January 02 2013, 2:45PM
“by DockLobster
Wednesday, January 02 2013, 2:20PM
.
"It's only 20p, hardly inflation bustin'!
I'm sure the petrol costs involved in not using the bridge have risen by a far higher percentage.
Chill out..."------------------------------Like I said guys,just slumber on.”
by DockLobster
Wednesday, January 02 2013, 2:20PM
“It's only 20p, hardly inflation bustin'!
I'm sure the petrol costs involved in not using the bridge have risen by a far higher percentage.
Chill out...”
by nickthompson
Wednesday, January 02 2013, 10:35AM
“ashleyvale:
You are wasting your time pal,Bristolians don't complain,or demonstrate against anything,hence the reason we are known as Bristol village,the little backwater on the M4,firmly wedged in the 20th century.”
by ashleyvale
Wednesday, January 02 2013, 9:58AM
“The Severn River Crossing PLC are milking drivers like a big old herd of passive dairy cows. They charge vastly more than any other bridge toll in the UK yet drivers just take the increase, year after year. They can't believe how easy it is to take the money.
Where are the protests? The go-slows, the paying in small change, the disruption, the publicity events? The people of Skye didn't sit back and accept it. http://tinyurl.com/bu6uf7d”