More Tolls on the M50 coming soon

Del2005

-Chris- wrote: »

Can you elaborate on the whole fatal accidents thing?

The current tolled roads, bar the M50, aren't being used by the majority of commuters and very few HGV's.

When they bring in the tolls, to raise revenue, people will stop driving on these safe M roads and start using statistically more dangerous N, R or L roads. Unfortunately when these roads start to get busy there will be people killed and injured who would have been using safer M roads.

I can't link to the .pdf but the RSA's Road Collision Facts 2008 puts the price of a fatal accident at €2.8m and a serious injury at €370k. In cold accounting terms they will need ~100,000 people to pay a €3 toll to cover the cost of a single preventable accident.

opinion guy

DubTony wrote: »

Most of you won't remember that when the first stretches of the M50 were built there were toll plinths built at each access point. IIRC South Dublin Co.Co. challenged the government on the basis that the M50 had been built with European funds and therefore had already been paid by taxes and so should not be "taxed" again. The plinths were later removed. I assume that the rule no longer applies.

I think it's pretty obvious that when electronic tolls were introduced it was going to be done along the whole length of the M50. But instead of a silly 75c per section (would this be 50c for tag holders?) a fairer system, with toll gantries on each entry and exit point, would be better. Assuming they won't toll the road at the Santry junction and the port tunnel is already tolled, there are 13 junctions on the M50 (Dundrum Junction 13 and Dun Laoghaire Junction 14 are effectively the same junction). I'd suggest that the simplest system would be to electronically record when a vehicle enters the motorway and make the effective charge at the exit point (much like the "take a ticket" system used on many American turnpikes). So a trip from Firhouse to the N7 would cost 45c, but travelling the length of the thing wouldn't cost any more than it does now. I know there are many people who would simply avoid the M50 for a while, but when they're sitting in their cars looking at the empty M50 below they'll come to justify paying a small toll to hop from one junction to the next.

This is what should have been done at the time e-tolling was introduced when the road was widened. The problem is that this proposal is obviously simply a revenue generating exercise, and may not necessarily add to revenue.

And just how much would it cost to set up a system to administrate all this?

I'm sorry it almost pains me to say it, but the cheapest, fairest, most effective, and by a long long way to easiest solution to implement is simply to increase tax on fuel. Full stop.
Its also safer since it avoids people avoiding the tolled M roads as someone is discussion.

limklad

opinion guy wrote: »

And just how much would it cost to set up a system to administrate all this?

I'm sorry it almost pains me to say it, but the cheapest, fairest, most effective, and by a long long way to easiest solution to implement is simply to increase tax on fuel. Full stop.
Its also safer since it avoids people avoiding the tolled M roads as someone is discussion.

Unfortunately they are going to do that anyway by way of increased carbon tax and then add tolls to screw us farther. FF and Greens know they are finish in government next year. So they are now going to place in more pain on us for their screw ups before they go.

opinion guy

limklad wrote: »

Unfortunately they are going to do that anyway by way of increased carbon tax and then add tolls to screw us farther.

Agreed.

FF and Greens know they are finish in government next year. So they are now going to place in more pain on us for their screw ups before they go.

Finished are you kidding me ? FF will weasle there way back in. I would say the Greens would go the way of the PD's, except there will always be green supporters, because well they are the greens. I expect at least one of the current coalition parties will remain in power, possibly both.

sdanseo

maximoose wrote: »

Given how ridiculously incompetent E-Flow are at dealing with the current level of toll passages, its only gonna get a looooooooooot worse

The take-up of direct debits or tags can't be great in that case - I've had my tag for 2 years. It's cost me €24 in that time and saved me about €200. People seem VERY reluctant to sign up to direct debits, even the video ones which have no rental. And with a properly mounted tag, presto no incorrect fees.

You're never going to get 100% takeup but I can't understand the brain process of anyone who used the road >1 time per month NOT having an account.

smash

Here we go...

http://www.etenders.gov.ie/search/show/Search_View.aspx?id=OCT176056