Public consultation to be held over plans to increase Tamar Tag admin fee
In a meeting today the committee reversed its decision to increase the Tamartag admin fee
Last updated 13th Jan 2026
Plans to increase the admin fee for users of the TamarTag discount scheme by 150 per cent have been reversed – for now.
The Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry Joint Committee has agreed to carry out a full investigation of the impact of any rise and conduct a new search for savings. It will spend up to £10,000 on consulting the public
The monthly tag account fee will remain unchanged from its current 80p per monthly rate and not rise to £2 as recommended by the committee in December.
The recommendation had caused anger among the public so soon after a toll increase.
Officers will go back to the drawing board to see what savings can be made from the budget and what support can be given to avoid the increase by talking with MPs, parent companies of the crossings Plymouth City Council and Cornwall Council and stakeholders.
The committee will also be writing to the government to ask for a £500,000 revenue grant to support the cost of the bridge.
The costs of running the TamarTag scheme is currently more than the income which comes in from the 52,000 account holders fees. The charges have remained stagnant since the Tag was introduced in 2014. Not raising the charge means the committee will have to dip into its reserves which are predicted to deplete by 2029/30, it says.
In May, a hole in the finances for running the bridge was plugged with a 20p increase in the TamarTag toll charge to £1.50 and car and vans without a Tag now have to pay £3 to cross from Cornwall into Devon via the bridge or ferry.
Committee members said in December their choices were limited as the TamarTag scheme could not run at a loss but there was huge opposition to the move from local residents and MPs.
Campaign group The Tamar Toll Action Group said the rise would not be good for any resident or business reliant on crossing the Tamar to go about their daily lives.
The group was against local residents paying £24 a year for the convenience of having a Tag account which was more than local account holders subscribed to the residents schemes for the Dartford and Mersey crossings pay for an entire year of crossings, it said.
Committee member Jim Candy (Cornwall Council, Looe) said spending £10,000 from an already “dwindling” budget on asking residents if they wanted to see charges increased could be “a waste of money”.
But chief officer of the crossings Philip Robinson said the consultation would provide context and said people might think differently if they understood how the bridge and ferries were operated, maintained and kept compliant and the need to balance the budget.
Cost savings could include the £50,000 spent a year on posting TamarTags out to people as opposed to them collecting them.
The deep dive will also look into the visitor centre which cost £176,000 a year to run and brought in an income of just £20,000. The project was funded with a heritage lottery grant which would result in a penalty if the centre was scrapped as well as impact jobs, committee members heard.
Toll discount schemes across the country will also be investigated including paying one set fee for unlimited journeys.
Committee members agreed there would be no increases in the Tag fee until the chief officer came back with list of savings and a consultation carried out.
Vice chairman of the Tamar Toll Action Group Scott Slavin said it was the right decision to look at it in more detail rather than rubber stamp the recommendation given the amount of money brought into the economy by TamarTag users.
Local MPs Anna Gelderd MP, Luke Pollard MP and Fred Thomas MP wrote a letter to the Committee, urging it to reconsider the increase and ensure that any changes were fully justified and consulted on.
Anna Gelderd, Member of Parliament for South East Cornwall has welcomed the announcement that the admin fee would be kept the same, saying :“ I know that we need cheaper, fairer tolls for local people in South East Cornwall. Residents are dependent on crossing the Tamar, for school, work, healthcare appointments and to see family and friends. No one should be denied access to services due to rising toll charges.
“I am glad that public pressure and action from MPs and myself have resulted in the Committee keeping the admin charge at £0.80. The consultation is a good step to ensure transparency, but I will continue to call on all involved to fully consider the needs of local people in South East Cornwall.”
Luke Pollard, Member of Parliament for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport added:“ I’m glad the committee have realised they got their initial decision wrong. We now need a full implementation plan to deliver cheaper tolls for local people. All the local MPs are committed to working with the Tamar Crossing committee to get this right. I hope we can have more joined up working from now on."
Fred Thomas, Member of Parliament for Plymouth Moor View said: “I am pleased that the joint committee have now reversed this decision. I want cheaper tolls for local people and a rise in the cost of the TamarTag would not deliver that. I now want the committee to work with me and my neighbouring MPs to deliver on this aim and I am looking forward to working more closely with the committee going forward.”