Severn Bridge toll effect on Wales
The Welsh Affairs Committee is visiting the Severn Crossings on Thursday, 16 September, to take a look at the concerns that have been raised about the effect of the tolls on the economy of Wales.
The Severn Bridge was officially opened by HM the Queen in September, 1966, ending Enoch Williams's lucrative business as ferryman and beginning talk of a future of greater prosperity and understanding between Wales and England.
You can watch video of the official opening on the 91Èȱ¬ Bristol website.
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Comment number 1.
At 21st Sep 2010, BrianDavisRFC wrote:I live in the Forest of Dean and work in Stonehouse, and also am a Reading FC season ticket holder, so this is somewhat of an interesting subject for me.
The Severn Bridge though, only ever gets used one way for me, and that's east bound, leaving the Forest to either go to work or Reading.
When coming home from Reading the normal journey is to come off at Junction 15 of the M4 and down the A417/419 to Birdlip and home that way.
From work it'll always be back through Gloucester. Very occasionally I pop over to Cribbs Causeway so pay to come back, as the diversion to not pay it would be about the same in fuel.
If they considered making it a toll both ways, £2.25 each way for cars and half the prices for vans and lorries as well, then I'm sure they would see a massive increase in transport using it. I'd certainly use it more often and I'm pretty sure many thousands of others would do to, but all I see is greed, which has slowly started to fail. Change is required and they need to take the risk of dropping the price and tolling both ways and they will see increase.
Incidently, when we first moved from Reading to the Forest in around 1987 the toll was 50p both ways.
Brian
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