Irish hauliers say they are being unfairly penalised by an electronic tolling scheme planned for the M50 West Link Bridge in Dublin. The toll charges LGVs €5.90 per crossing, and costs are set to rise to €6.10 when barrier free tolling is introduced. Around 15,500 LGVs use the bridge each day.
The Irish Road Haulage Association says that operators have no alternative but to use this route between 7am and 7pm, when five-axle LGVs are banned from the city centre under Dublin City Council's
HGV Management Strategy/ However, at a public hearing in Dublin last week, the toll operator National Roads Authority rejected the IRHA'S objections.
"Operators will no longer be required to queue at the toll plaza. Journeys for trucks will become faster and their operating efficiency will increase," said Hugh Creegan of the NRA. IRHA vice-president Liam Brewer presented the association's case at the hearing.
"The transport minister told us there was an alternative route if we could do the work before 7am and after 7pm. That is not possible. It would delay and interfere with deliveries. We are stuck in that hard place where Dublin has closed all routes to us - we are the only users that do not have an alternative route," he commented.
Reed Business Information Limited.©2008
