Friday, June 25, 2010
For whom the bridge tolls
It has taken a long campaign by Liberal Democrats like Mike German and John Warman amongst others but at last a Liberal Democrat Transport Minister has announced that we will be able to use credit cards to pay the tolls on the Severn Bridge before the Ryder Cup lands on our shores in September.
The next stage of course is to get rid of the tolls altogether. Mike German is to use his last week in the Welsh Assembly to stage a debate calling for abolition and no doubt will be promoting this campaign in the House of Lords shortly after.
Put simply, the £5.50 cost of crossing these bridges is a tax on entering Wales and a disincentive to business. It should be scrapped at the earliest possible moment and in any case in 2016 when the bridges come back into public ownership.
The next stage of course is to get rid of the tolls altogether. Mike German is to use his last week in the Welsh Assembly to stage a debate calling for abolition and no doubt will be promoting this campaign in the House of Lords shortly after.
Put simply, the £5.50 cost of crossing these bridges is a tax on entering Wales and a disincentive to business. It should be scrapped at the earliest possible moment and in any case in 2016 when the bridges come back into public ownership.
