To think getting rid of the Severn Bridge tolls is a bad idea?

[Bungalowbeth]

Those bridges need constant maintenance.
100 people are losing their jobs as toll collectors.
£5.60 isn’t that much a few times a year, if you commute you can get a discount with a tag.
I know the tolls went to a French company for years but now they are UK Goverment owned they could be an important source of revenue which no doubt will get taxed elsewhere.

Anyway AIBU?

I’ve paid around £200 crossing the bridge this year, more than some but less than others but I don’t think this is the greatest move.

If it goes according to plan it will help the economy in South Wales but it could also push up house prices as people move from overpriced Bristol into Wales and commute. Swings and roundabouts.

As I make the trip a couple of times a month I'm delighted.

TAG saved you no money - you just paid in advance to whizz through the dedicated lane.

We live in Wales and my partner works in Bristol. We are going to save £1000 a year because they are scrapping the bridge toll.

My neighbor does it every day for work. It maybe a few times for some but not others.

I'm very worried about the house price issue Brizzle mentioned above.

Do you actually live in Wales ?
And know how annoying it is to pay the sodding thing every time you go back home ?
At least they went contactless recently
About bloody time

I’m glad they’re stopping the toll
Just sort out the Brynglas tunnels next

Why would it be only a few times a year?

No discount with the TAG. Delighted it's being scrapped. Use it often.

Hated having to pay to return to my own country, admittedly a somewhat shallow reason to be glad!

Yes I live in Wales and frequently cross the bridge. All the “paying to enter my country” guff is by the by. Who’s going to pay for upkeep of the bridge now? Don’t you care about 100 jobs going?

Sorry but I’d rather still pay and know the bridges are being maintained properly. Why this bridge and not other frequently visited toll roads in the UK?

I’m sorry for the people being made redundant, that is the only downside that I can see.

It will encourage trade, business, housing and tourism in South Wales which we need. The tolls slow the traffic. The TAG doesn’t save you money but maybe time at the tolls. The tolls were to repay the cost of building the crossings, which they have done.

On balance it’s a good thing that the tolls are going.

Apologies that I thought the TAG was discounted though! Was it discounted though when the tolls were higher than the current rate?

Best thing that happened to the Forth Road Bridge. Good that they "scaled" it down as well. Making it one way first and then abolishing it.

I'm sure that the tolls fully covered the initial building of the bridge which is what tolls were originally set for. Took longer with the Severn Bridge though as tolls were scrapped 10 years ago on the Forth Road Bridge despite it being opened only 2 years before the Severn.

It’s going to push up house prices and increase road commuting. There are lots of reasons why it’s a bad idea not least that monmass teasport alternative exists

*No mass transport

Good. Hopefully this news will prompt some sort of sense of shame over the Dartford Crossing.

We already pay road tax - this is the money which should be used to keep the bridge in good condition.

Exactly, bridges are just roads above water, they should be treated as part of the normal trunk road system

Lots of people who work in Bristol live in Newport already, and it hasn’t been a huge issue. I think it’s great, i don’t really use it as I tend to get the train if I am going to Wales; but whichever side of the bridge those losing their jobs live on there should be opportunities now. A few places just past the bridge were offering to pay the tolls on top of people’s wages as they are so short of staff. Also opens up jobs in Bristol for those living in wales, without paying loads a year!

Why would it be anything other than good news (except for any redundancies)?

Tolls are annoying and extortionate - people sometimes have no alternative route and yet it's 'fuck you pay me'.

The dart charge is abhorrent.

It costs me £100s every week. No reason for us to be paying tolls for bridges when there aren't any in Scotland any more.

And ffs, if they're going to allow multiple tolls and congestion charge schemes then sort out the charging so that we just need a single tag for everything. A simple delivery run from Widnes to Dartford, EC1 and Newport could mean a Mersey Crossing toll, an M6 Toll (just to make the point), Congestion Charge, T-charge, LEZ charge, Dartford Crossing toll and Severn Bridge.

If that sounds unlikely I've scheduled exactly that run for next week and although we won't pay the M6, T-charge or LEZ we will pay the other 4, using 4 different payment schemes, for the same vehicle, on the same day.

I promise they aren't going to stop maintaining the bridge!!!

Just sort out the Brynglas tunnels next

Oh yes - the hours I have spent queuing on the approach to those damn tunnels.

"It will encourage trade, business, housing and tourism in South Wales which we need. "

Trade and business potentially.
I don't agree on tourism. Why would anyone say 'we can't go on holiday to south Wales because it costs 5 pounds for the tolls'?
Housing not really a plus if it makes houses too expensive for local people.

I wish they'd get rid of the Humber bridge tolls. Costs a fortune to go to work each day.