Toll rise of 30% approved for Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry crossings

The rise means car drivers will pay £2.60 instead of £2 from January

A 30% rise in fares to cross the River Tamar between Devon and Cornwall has been approved by the transport secretary.

From 1 January car drivers will pay £2.60, up from £2, on the Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry.

The charge for those using discounted tags for cars will remain at £1.30.

The Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry Joint Committee said the increase was prompted by debt rising to £43m and a fall in traffic since the pandemic.

Formal approval of the rise by Transport Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan comes as traffic levels remain at 90% of pre-pandemic levels, according to joint committee chairs, Plymouth city councillor Jonathan Drean and Cornwall councillor Martin Worth.

'Secure future'

"We need to ensure that we have the funding required to carry out vital safety works and ongoing maintenance to keep services running and enable the public to cross the Tamar safely," they said.

"This additional revenue will address the shortfall in income and provide us with the funding to secure the future of both the bridge and the ferries."

Discounted tag rates for car drivers went up from £1 to £1.30 in May and will not increase from the current rates.

Rules around the funding of the crossings were set by The Tamar Bridge Act 1957, which states the crossings must be financially supported by tolls.