New campaign for Bridge e-payments (From Free Press Series)

New campaign for Bridge e-payments

2:00pm Thursday 25th October 2007

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USERS of the Free Press website - already au fait with all things electronic - may be glad to hear that a campaign for modernising the Severn Bridge toll booths is gathering momentum.

The cash-only method of collecting the £5.10 westbound on the bridges faces a powerful challenge by Michael German AM, leader of the Liberal Democrats in the Assembly.

Mr German's new campaign is to primarily use electronic means to get the message out that cash-only tolls at the bridges have "had their day and are completely customer unfriendly".

He has launched an internet campaign website called Severn Bridge Tolls and is backing a newly-launched group on the social networking site Facebook in support of card payments.

Mr German hopes that by harnessing the power of the internet, his campaign will reach people faster and further than by traditional means.

He said: "Cash-only tolls cause problems for everyone from local residents to the occasional traveller. The internet will reach people in a way that would not be possible otherwise."

Speaking from the Assembly today, he added: "The legislation that governs the toll collections now has to change. I have been asking for this and talking to the bridge operators and government officers for some years.

"We need an amendment to the law that says tolls can only be collected 'in cash'."

He argued that if the M6 toll road east of Birmingham can accept cards; and that if people can pay the London Congerstion Charge via mobile phone, Wales can implement the same necessary technology within months.

Mr German added: "Even in Lesotho and Kenya, people use their mobiles as wallets. This old-fashioned and expensive way of collecting tolls needs to come to an end."

What do you think - is paying with cash a drag, or would you rather the tolls were scrapped altogether?

Let us know by commenting on this story below.

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