Bridge commuters saved £2,000 since tolls scrapped
It's been nine years since the £1 charge was removed on the Forth Road Bridge
Last updated 16th Feb 2017
Commuters crossing the Forth and Tay bridges have saved about £2,000 each since tolls were scrapped nine years ago.
A typical daily commuter will have avoided £2,280 of Forth Road Bridge charges, which were #1 when they were abolished by the Scottish Government in February 2008.
A similar driver with a daily commute on the Tay Bridge will have saved £1,824 since the 80p levy was dropped at the same time.
The figures were worked out on the basis of 253 working days per year and the charges remaining at the 2008 rate.
Scrapping the tolls followed years of campaigning, which strengthened when charges on the Skye Bridge were scrapped in 2004 and on the Erskine Bridge in 2006.
Scotland now has no transport tolls while England and Wales have a total of 21 tariffs for drivers and a one-way trip on Severn Bridge can cost up to #6.70.
David Torrance, SNP MSP for Kirkcaldy, said: "It is nine years this week since the SNP scrapped the last of the transport tolls on the Forth and Tay bridges - saving the average commuter around £2,000 each.
"In Scotland we enjoy no tolls on roads and bridges, free tuition fees, free prescriptions and lower water rates - while the Tories in Westminster prefer tax cuts for the rich and stealth taxes for everyone else.''