Toll Roads

[Yellow Ledbetter]

While I'm not against the tolling of some roads, the fact that many of them are over charging us in breach of their contracts is a fucking joke.

Fermoy bypass is one such example.
NRA would want to sort this shit out and enforce the contracts.

http://www.independent.ie/national-...fy-rules-by-refusing-to-cut-fees-2492695.html


Toll road operators defy rules by refusing to cut fees

Motorists are being overcharged on toll roads across the country after four toll operators refused to cut their charges at the start of the year in line with tolling by-laws.

And the National Roads Authority (NRA) has said it will take court action after just one toll company reduced its charges. Under tolling by-laws, if the consumer price index falls for a 12-month period, toll operators are required to reduce their charges.

Operators

While not all tolled routes are subject to this agreement, the NRA has directed five toll operators to reduce their charges for 2011. To date, only one toll company has done so.

The NRA said that the toll firms who have not cut their charges are applying a different interpretation of the law and that it it now taking the matter to the courts.

The five tolled routes on which the NRA directed cost cuts are the M1 between Julianstown and Drogheda; the M4 between Kilcock and Kinnegad; the M6 from Galway to Ballinasloe; the M8 between Fermoy and Watergrasshill; and the N25 Waterford city bypass.

To date only the company operating the M6 Galway to Ballinasloe motorway has dropped its tolls from €1.90 to €1.80 for a car.

Chairman of the Irish Drivers' Association John Lernihan said: "We recommend that motorists don't use toll roads at all and avoid those routes if possible."

 

[kidneybeans]

I fucking HATE tolls, we pay far too much as motorists already, without onboxious tolls slowing you down. I recall crossing a toll bridge in Wales last year and started to groan until I heard the charge.....10p, I thought it was a joke at first, costs a few euro here for each toll, a return trip to Dublin is very costly when you add up all the costs of buying, taxing, insuring fuel etc etc and then the fucking tolls

 

[jd26]

I don't have a problem with toll roads as such, especially if it can speed up the improvement in inter-urban roads, but it strikes me that the way it is implemented here is truly half-arsed

We toll the bypasses in Limerick, Dublin and Waterford. All that does is encourage traffic - especially trucks - to go through the cities. If a charge is imposed, it should be for driving through the city centre, not avoiding it.

We also have a series of micro-tolls all operated by individual companies. The conspiracy theorist in me reckons that these have been set up this way so that major international players will stay out of the market. The small contracts can then go to party insiders who can cream it in. Finally, they merge and sell out to larger operators who are now interested in the scale on offer.

 

[Scatter]

I don't have a problem with toll roads as such, especially if it can speed up the improvement in inter-urban roads, but it strikes me that the way it is implemented here is truly half-arsed

We toll the bypasses in Limerick, Dublin and Waterford. All that does is encourage traffic - especially trucks - to go through the cities. If a charge is imposed, it should be for driving through the city centre, not avoiding it.

We also have a series of micro-tolls all operated by individual companies. The conspiracy theorist in me reckons that these have been set up this way so that major international players will stay out of the market. The small contracts can then go to party insiders who can cream it in. Finally, they merge and sell out to larger operators who are now interested in the scale on offer.

Shouldn't they have been state run from the start. Instead of farmed out to private companies to fleece us of our money?

 

[jd26]

That depends on how they were funded.

 

[collapsedfaceman]

:lol:
Toll firms paid €28m to compensate for lack of traffic -

Private toll companies have been paid €28m by the State to compensate them for less-than-anticipated traffic on two motorways.

See more at: http://www.independent.ie/business/...of-traffic-30506820.html#sthash.Kos3tFoa.dpuf

 

[trid]

I fucking HATE tolls, we pay far too much as motorists already, without onboxious tolls slowing you down. I recall crossing a toll bridge in Wales last year and started to groan until I heard the charge.....10p, I thought it was a joke at first, costs a few euro here for each toll, a return trip to Dublin is very costly when you add up all the costs of buying, taxing, insuring fuel etc etc and then the fucking tolls

What toll is that? Most tolls in UK are a coupla quids

 

[ex-craichead]

Published 12/01/2011

 

[Spank The Donkey]

Published 12/01/2011

So was the original post.

 

[collapsedfaceman]