petew

I have just seen a news item about motorway tolls going up by 2.4% from 1st January (on top of the recent hefty increases). This is to compensate for the fact that fewer and fewer drivers are using toll motorways because they are so expensive! You can't argue with their logic can you?

amideislas

Haven't driven in France lately, eh?

petew

We drove to Calais and back this summer. We hardly used the French toll roads at all because we were not in a hurry and they are expensive. I am not sure how they compare with Spain?? It would be interesting to see the effect of a reduction in tolls in Spain.

Domino

there is I believe only 2 tolls in the UK, the QEII bridge/tunnel at Dartford and the Birmingham western bypass.

But there are plans afoot to go for more.

If it doesn't move paint it
It it moves tax it with either tolls or fines

billgates

What about the Severn Bridge?
The Forth Road Bridge?

Aren't they toll bridges?

Also there is a tiny little bridge in the sticks somewhere south of Oxford (I think) that charges about 30p to cross it.

agoreira

There are probably nearer 20 that charge, most small, but certainly the Clifton Suspension and Tamar Bridges all charge.

Domino

see how easy it is to forget things once you get out here


and I sat here wracking the brain trying to think of others
its a few decades since I crossed for the Forth but only 4 years since I crossed the Severn.

SpanishAngel

According to Wikipedia there are a fair few:

England
Aldwark Bridge
Batheaston Bridge
Cartford Bridge
Clifton Suspension Bridge
Dartford Crossing (Dartford Tunnel northbound, and the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge southbound)
Dunham Bridge
Eling Bridge, Eling Tide Mill, Hampshire
Humber Bridge, near Hull
Itchen Bridge, Southampton
Kingsland Bridge, Shrewsbury
Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge
Severn Bridge and Second Severn Crossing - between England and Wales
Swinford Bridge
Tamar Bridge, Plymouth
Warburton Toll Bridge
Whitchurch Bridge
Whitney-on-Wye Bridge

Wales
Cleddau Bridge
Newport Transporter Bridge
Penrhyndeudraeth Bridge
Penmaenpool Bridge

Rotor

Plus ferry tolls , Torpoint being one.

Pocaloca

Swinford toll bridge on the way to Eynsham - recently privatised and the toll went up from 2p to 5p!

Dxf

London Congestion Charge???

Plus somewhere near Dulwich there is a cut through that charges 10p - Guess who followed their incorrect sat-nav

Davexf

agoreira

How does a boat come under Motorway Tolls? You might as well include the IOW ferry!

petew

The situation in the UK is not comparable to Spain. Not sure how my post ended going down this (toll?) road.

The way things are heading in Spain the tolls will get higher and higher, with fewer and fewer users. The cycle needs to be broken by reducing (for a trial period at least) the tolls.

Pocaloca

The problem is, they are privately run and they are losing billions. The government is even considering a bailout fund for the management companies! Because of the recession and unemployment, there are fewer journeys being made overall than when they were first budgeted.

I guess they think a few cents extra here and there won't reduce usage, at least not for long. Sometimes it can be cheaper to use a toll route if you factor in the extra fuel costs.

Whenever they put train fares up in the UK, people complain and say they'll take the bus instead, but in the end, convenience wins out.

petew

I think the steady increases in tolls have reduced usage and I don't think it's a temporary effect. Regarding fuel, I find driving at lower speeds on N roads uses less fuel than on toll roads. At the level of toll on some stretches of motorway the toll exceeds the fuel cost (depends on your car of course). On shorter journeys especially, the time saved for many people is just not worth the toll. I suppose annual increases are inevitable - difficult to see how it will develop but the current policy doesn't seem to be working.