Government scraps tolls on 2 bridges

PORT COQUITLAM — Premier John Horgan is citing fairness and affordability for his fledgling NDP government’s decision to eliminate tolls on two major Vancouver-area bridges in time for the Labour Day weekend.

Tolls will come off the Port Mann and Golden Ears bridges on Sept. 1, a move Horgan said is aimed at treating commuters in the Lower Mainland the same as those travelling in other parts of the province.

“The tolls, in my opinion, are unfair,” he told a news conference in Port Coquitlam on Friday.

“If you live in Kelowna, you don’t pay tolls to cross a bridge. If you live on Vancouver Island you don’t pay tolls to use the highway. If you live in Whistler you don’t pay tolls to use public infrastructure. You shouldn’t have to pay tolls because of where you live in Maple Ridge or Surrey or other points south of the Fraser River.”

Horgan said eliminating tolls will save an average commuter $1,500 a year and commercial drivers crossing a bridge once daily will pocket at least $4,500.

Getting rid of tolls will also allow commuters to get home earlier as they stop using alternate routes “just to save a few bucks,” said Horgan, whose announcement fulfills a key election promise for his minority NDP government.

“Families will benefit mostly from this decision,” he added.

About 121,000 vehicles a day use the Port Mann Bridge connecting Coquitlam and Surrey, and about 40,000 use the Golden Ears between Surrey and the Pitt Meadows-Maple Ridge area.

Green Leader Andrew Weaver called the decision “reckless” because it transfers $3.4 billion in debt from the Port Mann Bridge to the province, leaving less money to spend on social programs.

The toll to cross the Port Mann Bridge is $3.15 for cars, pickup trucks and sports utility vehicles, and $9.45 for commercial vehicles. The toll on the Golden Ears is $3.20 to $4.45 for cars, and $9.45 to $10.70 for commercial vehicles.