Tolls on the Forth and Tay bridges will be scrapped by the end of the year after the Scottish parliament voted in favour of their abolition. Scottish Transport Minister Sewart Stevenson says their removal would "eliminate [the] 40 years of injustice" since both bridges opened in the 1960s. He says the government will provide the £16m raised each year from the tolls for the bridges' upkeep.
However, the Road Haulage Association (RHA) says a new crossing for the Forth, currently being considered
by government agency Transport Scotland, might itself be tolled. It is worried an alternative to the corroding Forth bridge will not be ready in time for a potential ban on all trucks which could come into affect by 2013.
Transport Scotland says it has identified three areas along the Forth where a new bridge or tunnel could be built. It is now preparing a report for Scottish Ministers at cabinet level. A spokesman for the Forth Estuary Transport Authority says government figures estimate that traffic on the Forth Bridge will increase by 20% when the tolls are scrapped.
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