Road bridge toll evidence removed

Back in December 2007, the Scottish Parliament backed legislation to end toll on the Tay and Forth road bridges, then 80 p and £1 respectively, for cars. This followed the removal of tolls on the Skye Bridge in December 2004 and on the Erskine Bridge in May 2006.

Today, February 11, saw Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson sign an order removing the tolls from 11 February, with the Scottish Government taking over responsibility for directly funding the bridges. There is also a one-off payment of £14.8 million for the Tay bridge, to cover the repayment of all outstanding loans. Other costs involved include the expected redundancy of some 33 of the 104 staff involved in toll collection and administration at the Forth bridge, and the cost of works carried out in 2006 to install new toll booths intended to speed up collection and improve traffic flow, some £4 million. Removing these relatively recent facilities will now cost up to £2 million.

It will be interesting to see the real effects of the abolition of the tolls, which caused massive tailbacks and delays at peak travel times. While those who have to use the bridges welcome the removal of the obstruction, environmentalists regard the move as detrimental, claiming the tolls helped keep the number of vehicles down, although they fail to mention how much additional pollution the stalled traffic and stationary vehicles produced as they queued for the tolls.

Picture by Simon Johnston.