Calls for Government to explain pledge to scrap Severn Crossing tolls – WalesOnline

Calls have been made for the Conservative Government to explain their pledge to scrap the Severn Crossing tolls.

In the manifesto ahead of the general election last week the party said they would abolish tolls.

Leader Theresa May said that by abolishing tolls for the 25m journeys made on the crossing every year it would strengthen the links between communities.

The party had already pledged to halve tolls by 2018 and possibly introduce free-flowing tolls.

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The Department for Transport has confirmed there is no current date for any abolition of the charges.

A spokeswoman said: The government is working on how it will implement its commitments. There will be an announcement in due course.

In their manifesto the Labour party said they would work with Welsh Government to scrap tolls on the Severn bridges.

Newport East MP Jessica Morden has said the Conservatives should just get on with it.

She said: Both the Tories and Labour promised to scrap the Tolls if elected so the Tories should just get on with it. The eyes of Welsh commuters and businesses will be on the Queens speech when they have finally written it. As I have said in parliamentary debates it is important that the staff are kept fully informed and looked after.

Business groups also say more detail is needed.

Ben Mottram from the Federation of Small Businesses said: There is a consensus on this. The technology is the only question mark.

There is an expectation that it has been promised and that it will be delivered. It is one of the things that Government has in its armoury to boost confidence.

This could be a confidence boost for business. We want this taking forward.

We know it wont be tomorrow as the bridges are still in public ownership but that shouldnt be a significant barrier.

What we want to see a clear timetable for implementation for the eradication of the tolls.

This isnt a revolutionary measure. Its been a long time coming.

It is something that they have in their control and they need to understand and implement measures that in the absence of any confidence of how the Brexit landscape is going to shape up, they need to do what they can to instil confidence.

There are many things that the Government doesnt know and that the UK Government doesnt have control of. This is something they have control of and they can work with the things that are actually available. This is one of those things.

Denise Lovering from the Freight Transport Association said there were still many questions over the Conservative pledge.

She said: We have always taken the view that the tolls were detrimental to the Welsh economy but we have always been realistic enough to realise that someone will have to pay for the upkeep of the crossings.

When the manifesto pledge was made there was no mention of the upkeep costs and it just appeared the cost would be taken away.

She said that the aim from her group had always been to reduce the fee to an amount which meant there would still be money for maintenance.

She said that a select committee had previously found that amount to be 1.50 per vehicle far below the 20 charge for lorries or buses.

Is it going to be totally free or is there going to be some element of repair or maintenance cost? she said.

The two crossings will be operated by Highways England when they return to public ownership in 2018.

Annual maintenance costs are estimated at around 7m per year.

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Calls for Government to explain pledge to scrap Severn Crossing tolls - WalesOnline