Tolls on the Tamar crossings are going up
The Transport Secretary has approved an application to raise cash tolls by 30%
From January, crossing the Tamar from Cornwall to Devon will cost drivers more money.
The government has approved an application to increase cash tolls on the bridge and ferries by 30%
The Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry Joint Committee say they took the decision "reluctantly", in order to secure the crossings' long-term future.
Between them, the Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry carry around 18 million vehicles per year and are almost entirely funded by toll income.
In reaching their decision, members of the Joint Committee noted the undertaking’s growing level of debt - £43.085m at the end of January 2022 – that had funded capital projects.
They also noted the repayments and interest on this debt represented 33% of toll income by the end of March 2022.
Having considered the evidence contained in the application to increase cash tolls, together with the feedback from the public consultation, the Secretary of State for Transport has now approved the formal application to increase cash tolls by 30%.
Joint Chairs, Plymouth City Councillor Jonathan Drean and Cornwall Councillor Martin Worth, said: "The income needed to operate the crossings relies on traffic numbers, and even now, more than two years after the first lockdown, our traffic levels are only about 90% of pre-pandemic levels.
"We need to ensure that we have the funding required to carry out vital safety works and ongoing maintenance to keep services running and enable the public to cross the Tamar safely.
"This additional revenue will address the shortfall in income and provide us with the funding to secure the future of both the bridge and the ferries".
Discounted TamarTag rates were changed in May this year and will not increase from the current rates.
The increase in cash tolls will mean that the rate of discount for TamarTag holders will revert to 50% from 1st January 2023.
The 30% reduction in the TamarTag pre-payment discount equates to an additional 30p per crossing – £1.50 per week for a Tamar Tag car user crossing five times a week.
For those paying by cash the car toll will increase from £2 to £2.60 per crossing.
A formal Toll Order allowing the increase to be introduced from 1st January 2023 is expected to be issued within the next few weeks.