Toll charges on the N25 Waterford bypass are set to increase next year.
In total, eight of the State’s 11 toll-motorways, bridges and tunnels will see an increase of 10 cent.
It's the first increase in nine years for private cars, according to The Irish Times. There will also be increases across most other vehicle categories in 2022.
There will also be no increase in charges for the Dublin Tunnel or for cars which have electronic tags on the M50, Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) said.
TII said the last time there was an increase in tolls for cars was in 2013. It pointed out the increase in inflation over the nine-year period from August 2012 to August 2021 was 4.3 per cent, of which 2.9 per cent related to inflation between August 2020 and August 2021.
TII summarised the 2022 increases as follows:
- Tolls will increase by 10 cent on seven of the eight PPP concession schemes – from €2.90 to €3 (M4) and from €1.90 to €2 (M1, N6, M7/M8, N8, N25 Waterford and the Limerick Tunnel)
- Tolls will not increase for cars on the M3 in 2022
- Tolls have not changed on the Dublin Tunnel since 2010 and will remain at €10 (peak hours) and €3 (all other times)
- Tolls on the M50 will not increase for users of toll tags, but will increase by 10 cent for video account registered vehicles (from €2.60 to €2.70) and vehicles without toll tags or video accounts (from €3.10 to €3.20)
Traffic survey
Meanwhile, a Waterford councillor says the city is becoming a through road for traffic. Jason Murphy wants a survey of traffic in the city over concerns vehicles are avoiding the tolled bypass.
It's not the first time the Fianna Fail councillor has raised the issue, which he said was worsening:
"I think this is getting to a critical stage in relation to traffic coming into our city. Waterford city is basically becoming a through road for places like New Ross, Dublin, Wexford in general and Kilkenny."
He called for a traffic survey to determine how much was 'through traffic' and how much was of economic benefit to the city. Cllr Murphy also queried whether the toll could be moved or removed.
However, Waterford Council's Director of Services, Roads, Water and Environment Fergus Galvin said they had no influence or control over the N25 bypass. He said the contract would not expire until 2035/2036:
"So there's another 14 or 15 years of that to run. We have no capacity whatsoever, this is a contract that was entered into on behalf of the State by hte NRA, what is now TII (Transport Infrastructure Ireland)...we have no capacity to interfere with either the toll or the removal of the toll, that would be a decision to be made at national level."
Congestion Charge
Labour councillor Thomas Phelan said the tolled bypass was effectively acting as the opposite of a congestion charge:
"By having a toll on the ring road we're incentivising people to come through the place. There was a report recently to the Department of Transport...The five cities demand management report it was suggesting there could be congestion charges - I know it was maybe in relation to Cork initially, but at the moment we effectively have the opposite by funneling people through the city".
He echoed calls for a survey to find out which journeys were necessary through the city.
Mr Galvin said the traffic using the bypass has been increasing gradually over the last number of years since it opened in 2009, but not at the rate that was anticipated when it was built. He said he wasn't sure a survey would tell them anything they didn't already know.
