The toll paid by motorists to cross the Severn Bridge is damaging the local economy and should be scrapped, according to campaigners.
The call comes as the charge for cars using the crossing between England and Wales was increased by 10p to £6.60 from New Year's Day.
Small buses and small goods vehicles also faced a 10p price hike and will now pay £13.20, while the toll for buses and heavy goods vehicles increased by 20p to £19.80, reports the Press Association.
The Campaign Against Severn Bridge Tolls (CAST) says that the "tax on entering Wales" is having a devastating impact on hauliers while deterring businesses from moving into Wales.
John Warman, group organiser and member of Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council, says the toll, which also applies to the Second Severn Crossing, makes the bridges the world's most expensive on a per mile basis.
A spokesman for Severn River Crossing (SRC), which operates both bridges, says the toll rise complies with the Severn Bridges Act and is in accordance with the Retail Price Index (RPI) measure of inflation.
Earlier this year over 6,000 people signed an online petition calling on Prime Minister David Cameron to axe the toll.
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Gareth has more than 20 years’ experience as a journalist having started his career in local newspapers in the 1990s. Prior to joining Fleet News in 2008, he worked in the public sector as a media advisor and is currently news editor at Fleet News.
Darren - 04/01/2016 10:47
As someone who used to pay this toll on a weekly basis, I have always found it very expensive and the cost rises every year. When I started using the bridge in 2005, the charge was £3.20 for a car, now it's over double that. It used to be that the charge was to help pay for the maintenance of the bridge, but I have rarely seen any real maintenance going on and frequently witnessed multiple road lights not working and damage to the tarmac go un-repaired for weeks on end. Don't even get me started on the massive cues the toll booths can cause for people trying to get into Wales, as well as the confusion with payment options (card payments were not accepted, often leaving people with insufficient funds to pay in cash with, and the people who ran the tolls could be very rude about that to customers who thought they could pay by card. Also topping up of the TAG pre-payment system could lag behind leaving you with insufficient funds in your account to cover your trip, even though you topped up two days before).