Toll bridges - charges and fines

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Toll bridge fine issued to driver 270 miles away

[Image from here is not available to guests]
The Warburton Toll Bridge crosses the Manchester Ship Canal

A driver said he was left "perturbed" after receiving a fine for crossing a toll bridge more than 270 miles from his home despite insisting he had never been near it.

Graham Parsons, from Plymouth, Devon, received an unpaid toll charge for using the Warburton Toll Bridge, which links Cheshire and Greater Manchester.

His case is one of a number raised by motorists who have complained about the bridge's payment and enforcement system.

Peel Ports said there had been "some genuine customer experience issues", but the evidence did "not indicate a systemic failure of the system".

The bridge previously cost 12p a crossing, but the charge was increased to £1 following refurbishment works in recent years.  Manned toll booths were removed and replaced with an automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) camera system.

Mr Parsons told BBC Politics North West he received an unpaid toll charge in early June for a crossing in March.  "I put my Sherlock Holmes hat on because I didn't realise that I'd ever been near the bridge," he said.  "And in fact, I had never been near the bridge because it's 271 miles from where I live. So I was quite perturbed and annoyed."

He appealed and discovered the camera had misread his registration plate, which differed by one character from the vehicle photographed.  Two weeks later, he received a second letter relating to another crossing in April.

Mr Parsons then submitted a subject access request to parking operator Excel Parking, after which the charges were cancelled.

He said he was "lucky" to know what steps to take and highlighted that a Facebook group where others had been through similar experiences with the bridge had helped him.

"I thought 'this is bad, I need to get it resolved' but I have a lot more sympathy for local people that have to cross that bridge on multiple occasions," he said.

He also raised concerns about his personal information being released by the DVLA^▸ (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency).

The DVLA said it was "sorry for any distress caused".

"In this case, the company that requested the information has confirmed the notices were issued in error and has cancelled the charges," a spokesperson said.

Russell Barton, from Lowton, often makes one-way journeys across the bridge, visiting his elderly parents on his way home from work.  He received an unpaid toll charge in June for a crossing in March despite having paid the charge.

"Luckily I don't often delete emails, and sure enough there's the receipt that I paid the £1 crossing on the day they say I didn't," he said.  He said the system was "not fit for purpose".

"I appreciate they spent a lot of money on the bridge and that needs to be paid for somehow," he said.  But he said the way the charges increase was "not fair" and "not proportionate".

"I think a lot of people will just pay it to get it out of their hair, or they haven't kept the receipt.  I won't do that, I'll go to court and I'll win."  He added that if the company "can't sort their own house out, then it must be regulated".

Connor Rand, Labour MP^▸ (Member of Parliament, or Mile Post (a method of measuring the railway in miles and chains from a starting point - usually London), depending on context) for Altrincham and Sale West, said he had been "inundated" with messages about the bridge, which is partially in his constituency.  "It's clear whatever is happening isn't working - it's broken at the moment," he said.

He said he wanted Peel Ports to "come to the table, take the issue seriously and work to solve them in a way that works for residents.  What I'll be saying to the transport minister and the department is that if they don't take those issues seriously then we might need to look at what other action we can take - including parliamentary action - to solve the issues," he said.

Meanwhile, Warrington North's Labour MP Charlotte Nichols - whose constituency also partially includes the bridge - said she had met Peel Ports after receiving complaints from residents and had been told the company would investigate.

In a statement, Peel Ports said it recognised the "variety of concerns" users have about the operation of the toll enforcement system.

It said: "We take all feedback seriously and are reviewing the examples that have been provided, in conjunction with Excel Parking who are responsible for the number plate recognition system and the toll charges.  We and Excel will continue to investigate any specific examples provided and it will be for Excel to implement changes from any lessons learned. Our focus remains on delivering a fair, proportionate and transparent service for all users."

It said that while there had been "some genuine customer experience issues", its assessment found no evidence of a "systemic failure" of the scheme.  And it said where an issue had been found due to an error it had "acted appropriately, including issuing payments retrospectively where justified and upholding appeals where the evidence supports this".

Excel Parking has been approached for comment.

All of this, for a toll of just £1 ??

[grahame]

All of this, for a toll of just £1 ??

But these things add up ..  an RAC page from last year ...

There are 20 tolls, or toll roads, in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom); 18 of which are river crossings.

and

In September 2016 the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) reported that nearly 3.5m fines had been issued to drivers for non-payment of crossing charges since the toll booths were removed at the Dartford River Crossing.

[Ralph Ayres]

I'm intrigued by the lack of detail on that toll warning sign. "Pay online..." but no web address or even the name of the bridge to search for, requiring a bit of detective work if the driver isn't familiar with the location.  The list of charges is unclear; why single out motorcycles but not cycles or pedestrians (or horse riders?) who also don't pay?  There are also various exemptions but as you actively have to apply for those rather than just not pay I suppose it makes sense not to list them on a summary.

Someone really needs to update the website, which was clearly geared to the charge being a new thing but now has irrelevant detail about the exact start date and time (but no mention of the year) which will become confusing when the same date - albeit a different day of the week - comes round again.

[Fourbee]

Is a white C on a red circle a standard road symbol for a toll/charge? I've only ever seen it in relation to the Congestion Charge in London.

[John D]

Is a white C on a red circle a standard road symbol for a toll/charge? I've only ever seen it in relation to the Congestion Charge in London.

The road markings are supplement to signs.   They are used because some lanes approaching junctions go towards charging zone and others don't.

Signs have one of 4 letters, A, B, C, D
A is buses, coaches, taxis, private hire
B is buses, coaches, taxis, private hire, HGVs
C is buses, coaches, taxis, private hire, HGVs, vans, minibus
D is buses, coaches, taxis, private hire, HGVs, vans, minibus, cars (and optionally motorcycles)

There is an anomaly as London Congestion charge preceded the standard signs so have C on red background (but really should be D for standardisation)

[Mark A]

The previous toll notice, as well as stating the amount, gave the name of the bridge and its web site and shouldn't be too much to ask that the replacement does the same otherwise some people are going to end up forking out for the Runcorn bridge by mistake.

Unless you already know the local history, it might be best to stop reading this now and not scroll down, that is, unless you're interested in history, law, or curious survivals.


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The current bridge has a predecessor - a toll bridge, again of iron or steel, that carried the road across the river Mersey.

In the process of building the Manchester Ship Canal, the course of the river was filled in and its water taken via the new canal with a new bridge, the current one, augmenting the old. I've used the word 'Augmenting' as the old bridge appears not to have been removed and can still be seen on Google Streetview as it still 'Carries'** the road to the toll bridge - and even the toll house has survived.

Mark

** Perhaps it's the case that where it was beneath the road, its structure has been removed: it must be not straightforward to bury a steel structure and expect it to remain load-bearing... though there's then the puzzle of the downstream parapet railings, in plain view alongside the current road.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/nJJRAsomaMvHy7e69

[Mark A]

***snip***

** Perhaps it's the case that where it was beneath the road, its structure has been removed: it must be not straightforward to bury a steel structure and expect it to remain load-bearing... though there's then the puzzle of the downstream parapet railings, in plain view alongside the current road.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/nJJRAsomaMvHy7e69

More background and legal stuff:

https://lymm.uk/warburton-toll-bridge-Acts-overview

Mark

[stuving]

The current bridge has a predecessor - a toll bridge, again of iron or steel, that carried the road across the river Mersey.

In the process of building the Manchester Ship Canal, the course of the river was filled in and its water taken via the new canal with a new bridge, the current one, augmenting the old. I've used the word 'Augmenting' as the old bridge appears not to have been removed and can still be seen on Google Streetview as it still 'Carries'** the road to the toll bridge - and even the toll house has survived.

Mark

** Perhaps it's the case that where it was beneath the road, its structure has been removed: it must be not straightforward to bury a steel structure and expect it to remain load-bearing... though there's then the puzzle of the downstream parapet railings, in plain view alongside the current road.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/nJJRAsomaMvHy7e69

There's no sign on OS^▸ (Ordnance Survey) maps that the old course of the Mersey was ever filled in or converted to "land" or being built on. (So I wonder who owns it?) As late as a 1:10,000 map published in 1971 the label "Rixon and Warburton Bridge (toll)" is still appearing next to "Toll Gate" and Warburton", with "Warburton High Level Bridge" next to the new one.

The old river was just walled off from the canal and left to dry up.