Thousands more sign up to tunnel pay scheme

New technology at the Tyne Tunnels has encouraged more motorists to sign-up to the route’s pre-payment service.

New figures from TT2 Limited have revealed that the number of pre-paid customer trips through the tunnels have increased by more than 120,000 each month since the company introduced a range of service improvements last summer.

Direct debit top-ups, launched in 2019, allowed customers to set up an automatic payment for a set amount each month.

Prior to their introduction, the number of pre-paid customer journeys per month was 726,835. As of January this year, this had increased to 849,358.

Phil Smith, the firm’s CEO, said: We had received feedback from our customers asking for a number of service improvements, we are pleased to introduce one of many service improvements planned at the tunnels during 2019/2020.

“We’ve welcomed new pre-paid journeys onto our system, increasing by more than 15% in just five months.

“At Tyne Tunnels, we’re dedicating a great deal of time to introducing new technology, such as our ANPR system and app, to make things quicker and easier for customers.

“Our customers have been incredibly positive about the work we’ve done, and we can see by the numbers that it’s been successful so far. We are continuously listening to our customers and acting on their feedback to improve services.”

The pre-paid facility allows customers to top up credit their accounts and, using automatic number plate recognition, drive through the tolls at a 10% discount.