NEWS RELEASE

Friday 15th April 2005

Tolled Bridges Review:
Support for buses to be exempt from bridge tolls

TRANSform Scotland today welcomed the Scottish Executive's publication of Phase Two of its Tolled Bridges Review. The document published today (SE press release copied below) raises questions as to how to sustainably manage the three Scottish tolled bridges (Forth, Tay & Erskine Bridges).

Colin Howden of TRANSform Scotland said:

"The Executive is asking how public transport and new traffic management measures can reduce pressure on the bridges. This was absent from the first phase of the review and it is welcome that this is now to be addressed.

"We support the Executive's proposal that buses and coaches be free from bridge tolls. The suggestion that multiple occupancy vehicles also be exempt from tolls is an interesting one, as it would give a positive financial incentive to shift away from single occupancy car use.

"The bridge toll regimes currently in force don't truly reflect the damage done by damage done by heavy goods vehicles to bridges. Road hauliers are responsible for much of the damage to the road network, and any review of bridge toll levels should address this. [2]

"After its disastrous decisions on the M74 and the Aberdeen western bypass, it's certainly a change to see the Scottish Executive come up with some sensible-sounding ideas."

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

[1] The TRANSform Scotland response to Phase One of the consultation (August 2004), is available at http://www.transformscotland.org.uk/info/docs/TolledBridgesReview.pdf

[2] Road hauliers are responsible for much of the damage to the road network. One 8-tonne axle (as on a 38-tonne lorry) subjects the road to over 65,500 times more wear than that of an average car axle (based on wear factor calculations in Design Manual for Roads and Bridges).

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