Our coaching insider wonders how the scrapping of Severn crossing tolls might benefit coach tourism
The tolls for the Severn crossing are to be abolished by December 31, 2018. This stands to increase the volume of traffic entering Wales by the direct M4 route, hopefully benefitting the economy and making the country a more attractive destination for tourists.
The first bridge was opened on September 8, 1966 by Queen Elizabeth II, who hailed it as the dawn of a new economic era for South Wales. It took three-and-a-half years to construct and cost £8m. For 30 years, it carried the M4 motorway until a second bridge was opened in 1996. The original was granted Grade I listed status on November 26, 1999. [wlm_nonmember][…]
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To go into Wales, car drivers had to originally pay two shillings and sixpence, which is the equivalent of 12.5p, proportionally quite expensive for the wage of the day. Tolls have risen over the years, and for coaches reached a high of £20 in January 2017. As they have risen, so has the clamour to scrap them. The bridges became the responsibility of the state from January 8, 2018 and not too surprisingly, the Welsh Government has seen the opportunity to increase the flow of business into their country.
The Conservatives had made it a general election manifesto commitment in June 2017 to remove the tolls by December 2018. What is now printed on the bottom of every receipt for the Severn toll is that there is a) no vat and b) The UK Government will remove all Severn bridge charges by 31/12/2018.
Coach tourism has not, in honesty, suffered particularly by operators having to pay a toll. It has always been there and any savvy operator will have built it into the hire rate. Perhaps not quite the same as with the Dartford crossing tolls, for example, which are not normally added into the bill as the route the driver takes may not be specified.
When the second Dartford tunnel opened in 1980, there were those that said it could have been lined with mink with the revenue taken since the original was commissioned in 1963. As far as I’m aware, there are no plans to remove tolls although night travelling is free. In fact this very magazine reported in 2014 how tolls were to increase 25% when new technology was introduced to reduce congestion. Currently they’re £2.50 for cars. Two-axle commercial vehicles pay £3 while it’s £6 for multi-axle vehicles. Motorcycles continue to use the crossing free. Discounts are available to regular users, local residents and through the DART-Tag scheme.
Barriers and toll booths, the main reason traffic slows at the Dartford crossing, are due to be removed as a new system of monitoring traffic via number plate recognition is ushered in. Drivers are going to be urged to pay in advance either online or by mobile phone. Some shops and filling stations will also have pre-pay facilities available. An automatically issued £70 fine is being introduced for non-payment. This can be reduced to £35 for prompt payment, but increases to £105 if the debt isn’t settled within 28 days.
There is one remaining tollgate in London, which is actually in Dulwich and owned by the Dulwich Estate. It operates in College Road and has done so since 1789. The original tolls can be seen displayed by the adjacent ‘tollgate Cottage.’
The Dulwich tollgate was reinstated in 1993 and the equipment upgraded in January 2006 to provide automatic passage using either a tag or by cash payment – this in comparison to the Dartford and Severn crossings is actually relatively higher at £1.20, given that the distance is very short. Some do pay it as it provides a useful route through to the South Circular road, but the charge almost makes the Dartford crossing seem like good value for money.
Going back to the Severn crossing, a freedom of information request revealed that the First Minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones had not opposed the renaming of the second Severn crossing as the Prince of Wales Bridge. The UK government’s announcement in April about the renaming, which will officially take place later this year, stirred controversy over whether there should have been a public consultation. Initially the Welsh Government had raised no objections.
The crossing is being renamed to mark 50 years since the Prince of Wales’ investiture in Caernarfon in 1969, and coincides with the transfer of the two bridges to public ownership. I would like to think that any increase in tourism to Wales as a result of the tolls being scrapped will be beneficial to coach operators. There must be some out there that have felt, because of tolls, it was a destination that was a bridge too far.
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