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Call for Severn toll cut
Page 12
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by Guy Sheppard • A reduction in tolls of just 10% across the Severn bridge would be enough to tempt hauliers back on to the bridge, instead of using routes around the Severn Estuary through towns and villages, says a new report.
Research by the Cardiff Business School has concluded the discount would not lose bridge operator Severn River Crossing any money, because of the extra traffic generated.
The report was jointly commissioned by the Freight Transport and Road Haulage associations following protests from hauliers and residents that sharp increases in tolls have diverted up to 1,000 trucks a day from the bridge.
Hauliers currently pay £11.10 to cross the bridge from east to west with no toll for return traffic. There is a one-off £30 payment for an electronic tag but no discount for advance payments.
Frank Cook, the FTA's western regional director, says there is now a strong resistance to using the bridge. "The general concept that you have to pay extra to pay in advance is widely resented," he says.
Roads minister John Watts will be asked to reconvene a meeting held in January between SRC, bridge users and residents to discuss discounts. Edward Jenkins, managing director of Cardiffbased Hill's Transport says the 10% would make a difference. "I fully sympathise with the residents and don't like diverting our vehicles from the bridge but we are forced into it because margins are so tight," he says.
An SRC spokesman says the tolls comply with company's agreement with the Government, but the report will be studied in detail.