Call for curb on toll hikes
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• A leading Welsh academic has called for legislation to restrict the increases in tolls on the Severn crossings after the company which owns the bridges revealed the price hike due to come into force on 1 January.
Dr Anthony Beresford, a lecturer at Cardiff University and former director of Beresford Haulage of Stoke-on-Trent, has completed two years of study into toll roads in the UK, and says the latest rise will mean it won't be a Happy New Year for transport companies.
HGVs will face an increase of 40p, to £12.50; the toll for light CVs will rise by 30p to .E8A0. "Hauliers have to decide whether to absorb the costs of having to use this bridge on westbound journeys by making savings elsewhere in their business or pass the costs on to the customers."
Beresford believes the increase—the 10th in 20 years—will drive HGVs onto smaller roads, causing traffic congestion and maintenance problems.
"Because the charge is only levied at westbound traffic using the Severn Bridge vehicles will only make detours when they are travelling west into Wales. This means road such as the A48 through Gloucestershire will deteriorate faster on the westbound carriageway," he says. "Effectively, the £12.50 cost of crossing the Severn Estuary puts Wales an extra 8-10 miles further away than it really is."