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Budget 2016: Severn bridge tolls to be halved | Budget 2016: Severn bridge tolls to be halved |
(35 minutes later) | |
Toll charges on the Severn crossings will be halved in 2018, Chancellor George Osborne has announced in his Budget. | Toll charges on the Severn crossings will be halved in 2018, Chancellor George Osborne has announced in his Budget. |
The current £6.60 toll for cars - already due to be cut to £5.40 - is now expected to fall to around £3.30, subject to inflation. | |
Mr Osborne said he had listened to the concerns of Conservative MPs in Wales. | Mr Osborne said he had listened to the concerns of Conservative MPs in Wales. |
Tax breaks for a Port Talbot enterprise zone, in the wake of job losses at Tata Steel, were also announced. | Tax breaks for a Port Talbot enterprise zone, in the wake of job losses at Tata Steel, were also announced. |
Other measures include: | |
Severn bridge tolls are currently collected by a firm to pay for the construction and running costs, which are due to be repaid by 2018. | |
The current charge is £6.60 for cars, £13.20 for vans and £19.80 for lorries and buses. | The current charge is £6.60 for cars, £13.20 for vans and £19.80 for lorries and buses. |
They are paid for westbound journeys only, by vehicles travelling from England into Wales. | They are paid for westbound journeys only, by vehicles travelling from England into Wales. |
The toll booths could be removed and replaced by a system of online payments, if a UK government review recommends it. | |
Monmouth Conservative MP David Davies, who also chairs the Commons Welsh Affairs committee, said he was "absolutely delighted" by the chancellor's announcement. | |
"Halving the tolls is not as much as some were hoping for but it is certainly a welcome step forward," he said. | |
The UK Department of Transport confirmed in 2014 that tolls on the Severn crossings would not be subject to VAT when they return to public ownership. | |
In the 2015 pre-election budget Mr Osborne announced that, as a result, tolls would fall to £5.40 in 2018. | In the 2015 pre-election budget Mr Osborne announced that, as a result, tolls would fall to £5.40 in 2018. |