Tamar crossings 'Tag' fee could rise under new proposals

The Tamar Crossings 'tag' admin fee could rise under new plans.

It's jointly overseen by Plymouth and Cornwall Councils - which are looking to increase the fee from 80-pence to 2-pounds a month.

The Joint Committee states that the tag admin fee has remained at 80-pence since 2014 - and that the current rate is no longer viable.

The committee says the rise would help cover the quarter of a million pounds that the tags themselves cost and the 50-thousand pounds a year spent on postage. They say the fee also covers the cost of the online payments system, banking charges, web hosting and the customer service teams.

They add that the Joint Committee remain committed to pursing a toll-free future for the crossings - but they have to make sure the service remains safe, reliable and sustainable first.

Philip Robinson, the Chief Officer of Tamar Crossings said: “I remain committed to driving down the operating costs of the Tamar Crossings, where it is safe and compliant to do so. This requires greater transparency with those who rely on the crossing each day. Part of this process is ensuring that services are self-funding, which the tag system is not and has effectively been making a loss.”

Councillor Anne Freeman, Joint Committee Co-Chair: “Whilst it is disappointing that the TAG admin fee needs to be increased, the cost of running the scheme must be covered. We recognise that this is concerning, especially coming so soon after the Toll increase earlier this year. Plymouth and Cornwall Joint Committee members are committed to pursuing what we believe to be the right course of action, which is Toll Free crossing. We are working alongside MP’s and Parent Authorities with regards to this. We are also exploring all options to look at reducing costs and how income can be maximised from other sources (not the Toll). We face a critical year ahead with recent changes to the Joint Committee, returning a balanced budget to both Parent Authorities and exploring Open Road Tolling further. Our Joint Committee is firmly behind our direction of being more open and transparent and we will be ensuring that meaningful engagement is undertaken with Stakeholders, local groups, Crossing users and the local Town Councils”

Councillor Andrew Long, Joint Committee Co-Chair: “I am disappointed that Tamar Crossings are having to increase the Administration Fee for Tag Users. At a time when everyone is suffering from increased costs, this disproportionately adversely affects people from South East Cornwall, many of whom have no alternative but to use the Ferry and Bridge to access vital services in Plymouth. It remains the view of the Committee that the only long-term solution to this is to get a Toll Free crossing of the Tamar and we are pushing for the two authorities, the MPs and the UK Government to get a solution in place as soon as possible.

However, the Tamar Toll Action Group (TTAG) says the move will discourage use of the TAG scheme and cause increased queuing at the booths for manual payments.

Scott Slavin, the vice-chair of the group, says: "This belated claim of transparency is largely meaningless and appears driven more as a reaction to the public anger at the proposed change rather than any genuine desire to be transparent. It still contains no figures to justify the claims made, nor an explanation as to how transparency on such a key change is achieved by failing to present it as a separate agenda item for discussion in the meeting. Instead it was buried as a standalone one liner and set of figures in a table."

"TTAG's position is that all toll collection methods have a cost and to further disenfranchise the crossings largest customer base (who already provide a majority share of the income) by a punitive rise in their user costs so soon after a large toll rise that was alleged would balance the books is completely unacceptable. The TAG scheme eliminates the cost of processing cash and card payments and throughput through the TAG only lane is estimated at six times greater than others, reducing both costs and congestion. To penalise users in this manner will discourage use of the TAG scheme by irregular users and cause increased queuing at the booths for manual payment methods."

"This is a retrograde step that provides no benefit to users and will cause increased cost and inconvenience to local people and businesses reliant on crossing the Tamar to go about their daily lives."