MONMOUTH MP David Davies has calculated that a toll of £1.50 for cars would be enough to pay for the ongoing cost of maintaining both Severn bridges once they are returned to public ownership.
Speaking in his role as Chair of the Welsh Affairs Committee in a recent Westminster Hall debate, Mr Davies said there was plenty of room for a “significant cut” if, as expected, ownership of the bridges switches from Severn Crossing River Plc to the state in 2017.
Mr Davies said: “The current annual revenue from all the tolls is about £76 million a year. The current cost of maintaining the bridge is £15 million. I therefore estimate – and this is purely a back of the envelope calculation – that it would be feasible to levy the toll at about £1.50 and still be able to maintain both bridges. Of course it is likely that, in addition, the Government would have to put aside some extra money to cover the possibility of major renovations in the future, but there is plenty of room for a significant cut”.
He added that if the toll continued at a high rate, it would be “a tax on the people of south Wales”.
“Very few issues cause more rows in pubs and constituency surgeries in Monmouthshire then the Severn Bridge. The issue for all of us is price. We have a right to know what is going to happen and to absolute transparency, so that when the bridge becomes the Government’s property, we can open the books and see how much is being used to maintain both bridges and how much is simply going back into Government coffers. We could then put aside some money for future works,” said Mr Davies.
“A bridge with a toll is better than no bridge. That is accepted. A bridge with a cashless payment system would be better still, and not one that takes only credit cards.
“We also look forward to a day when the tolls can perhaps be set at a level that is fair, that enables the taxpayer not to lose out because the bridges will be maintained, and that is beneficial to all of us who live and work in south Wales. A bridge with a reduced toll after 2017 would be excellent and we look forward to improvements”.
A full transcript of the debate is available to read via Hansard at: