Tolls on Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry ARE going up by 30 percent
The increase has been approved by Cornwall Council
Tolls on the Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry are confirmed as going up by 30% after Cornwall Council approved the hike.
The rise was proposed after the two crossings saw a big drop in income during the Covid-19 pandemic.
A decision was taken to suspend tolls for a period but even after they were reintroduced the levels of traffic using the crossings has not yet returned to the rates seen before the pandemic.
The Government provided some financial support to help fill the financial gap, but this has not been enough to balance the books for the two crossings.
As a result the Joint Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry Committee, which has councillors from both Cornwall Council and Plymouth City Council, proposed the 30% increase in both the cost of tolls and the tag system.
Plymouth City Council had already backed the increase and last week Cornwall Council’s Cabinet approved the increase.
That has now also been supported by full council when it met on Tuesday (February 22nd).
It means the cost of a Tamar Tag will go up from £1 to £1.30 per crossing from May 2022 and a cash toll will go from £2 to £2.60 per crossing in January 2023. The cash toll increase will take longer to implement as it has to be approved by the Department for Transport.
It comes after Cornwall Council’s Cabinet said it will continue to press the Government to provide funding for the Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry, after backing the hike last week.
Philip Desmonde, Cornwall Council Cabinet member for transport, said he "reluctantly" recommended that the increase be approved.
Jane Pascoe, Cornwall councillor for Liskeard South and Dobwalls, said that any increase in tolls would have an impact on people living in South East Cornwall.
She reminded councillors that people in the area have no choice but to use the crossings to access services such as health, education and employment.
Cllr Pascoe urged Cllr Desmonde and the Cabinet to do "anything you can to convince the Government that we need help with funding".
Cllr Desmonde said: "It isn’t fair or reasonable to expect the people of South East Cornwall to bear the high cost. I have been doing everything I can in the background to mitigate this".
The Cabinet member said that he and all other members of the joint committee, with support from Cornwall’s MPs, would continue to highlight the issue with the Government and seek more funding for the bridge and ferry.