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Confusion surrounds Forth toll increases
Page 18
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Hauliers waiting to find out whether they will have a route over the Forth Estuary and, if so, how much it will cost are still in the dark. David Harris reports.
THE FUTURE OF tolls on the Forth Bridge remains uncertain this week after the Scottish Transport Minister dismissed suggestions that plans to increase them had been scrapped.
Chancellor Gordon Brown.who has an Edinburgh constituency. initially said the toll rises had been abandoned — but this claim has been dismissed by Scottish Transport Minister Tavish Scott, who says it is entirely a matter for the Scottish Parliament.
However, it is not clear when any final decision will be made.
The Forth Estuary Transport Authority (FETA), which told the Scottish Executive in November that it wanted to increase the tolls, says it expects to have an answer by the end of February. But a spokesman for the executive says a decision is not likely before Easter, which this year falls in the middle of April.
He adds:"We're considering the future of the bridge in its entirety, and the tolls are clearly just one part of this." FETA says: "Money will be needed to maintain and run the bridge, so the question is where that money is going to come from." Under the latest FETA proposals. the heaviest trucks would pay £10 to cross the bridge.
FETA has also warned that the bridge may have to close to HGV traffic by 2013 unless a new round of bridge repairs are successful. Newspaper The Scotsman predicts that proposals for a new £500m bridge will be approved within the next few weeks.