Pay Booths' Days are Numbered

Toll booths could be a thing of the past at the Severn crossing and other UK 'pay-as-you-cross' bridges, following an investigation by the House of Commons Welsh Affairs Select Committee.

Chairman, David Davies MP, says that the present arrangements give visitors "a poor first impression of the country," and that credit card payment was introduced only in recognition of the year's Ryder Cup hosting. Mr Davies insists that a non-stop system must be installed as soon as possible.

It seems almost inconceivable that, in this day and age, travellers should have to queue to pay. Imagine the London Congestion Zone with cash collection points at each entrance! The infamous delays at the bridge were, perhaps, best highlighted in an hilarious episode of the hit BBC TV comedy series, Gavin and Stacey, where two hapless car occupants are confounded by official intransigence whilst attempting to cross the Anglo-Welsh border.

There seems no reason why charges should not plummet once the bridges are taken back into state ownership (in 2017) and equipped with state-of-the-art ANPR [Automatic Number Plate Recognition] devices linked to registered payment accounts. However, committee member Jessica Morden MP, expressed disappointment that the government seemed unwilling to freeze current tolls in view of the present economic situation.

Perhaps, when the plans are finally rolled out, note will have been taken of a remarkable piece of lateral thinking employed by the custodians of the Sydney Harbour bridge in Australia, which went 'cashless' nearly two years ago. There, the operating costs have always been literally halved by the simple device of charging only southbound traffic.

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