Bridge tolls to rise in January
TOLL prices for the Severn bridges are set to rise again in the new year – going up by 10p for cars.
The new prices, which will apply to all vehicles crossing the Severn Bridge and Second Severn Crossing, will be introduced from January 1.
The toll for cars and motor caravans will rise from £6.60 to £6.70, small goods vehicles and small buses will rise from £13.20 to £13.40, and heavy goods vehicles and buses will rise by 20p from £19.80 to £20.
Phil Smith, chief executive of Severn River Crossing Plc (SRC), said: “The tolls are amended at the start of each year in accordance with the Severn Bridges Act 1992.
“They are agreed with the Department for Transport and confirmed by a Parliamentary Order made by the Secretary of State for Transport during the prior December.”
Last year Monmouth Tory MP David Davies obtained detailed figures from the UK Government, which he said showed that slashing toll prices to just £1 would cover the cost of running and maintaining the bridges when they return to public ownership in two and a half years time.
Mr Davies said there was a “vast difference” between the amount of money collected through tolls and what was actually needed to keep the bridges running. Last month, members of the National Assembly voted almost unanimously to support the abolition of Severn Bridge tolls when the two crossings become publicly owned.
But the vote of 45 to zero with one abstention is purely symbolic, with the UK Government apparently determined to have tolls rather than abolish them.