HL Deb 22 March 1972 vol 329 cc678-80
LORD BRECON

My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.

[The Question was as follows:

To ask Her Majesty's Government when they propose reducing the toll on the Seven Bridge from 12p to 10p; also to provide stalls for drivers with exact change.]

LORD MOWBRAY AND STOURTON

My Lords, my right honourable friend the Secretary of State is reviewing tolls on the Severn Bridge but it may be some time before he is able to publish whatever proposals he may decide to make. He does not consider that the provision of separate booths for drivers with exact change would be likely to speed the flow of traffic.

LORD BRECON

My Lords, I thank my noble friend for that Answer. Can he tell us what increase in income from the Bridge has occurred since the M.4 and the M.5 have been fully opened in that area?

LORD MOWBRAY AND STOURTON

My Lords, I am afraid that without notice I cannot give an exact answer to that question. The Secretary of State is authorised to produce the amount of capital involved, with interest, not more nor less, over a period of forty years.

LORD ROYLE

My Lords, will the noble Lord make arrangements for a rest area just outside the Aust area?

LORD MOWBRAY AND STOURTON

My Lords, I told the noble Lord yesterday that we have five picnic areas near our motorways, and the Aust area, I am happy to tell him to-day, is the one picnic area that is being used to our satisfaction.

LORD BRECON

My Lords, would not my noble friend agree that if drivers had a 10p piece ready to drop into a container, as they do in America, this would speed up the traffic considerably? At the present time practically everybody who arrives at the bridge has to stop and get change.

BARONESS WHITE

My Lords, as another South Walian, I should like to support the noble Lord, Lord Brecon, and ask the Minister to consider this matter seriously. A 10p piece makes sense from every point of view, and with the increased traffic it would certainly save a great deal of time and, I should have thought, wages, and thus make up the difference between the 10p and the 12p.

LORD MOWBRAY AND STOURTON

My Lords, I can assure my noble friend and the noble Baroness that I understand the point they are making. I am not, however, in a position to articipate the Secretary of State's proposals. Recommendations will be available to him in a matter of weeks. We have had a temporary order in force for 18 months from September, 1971. As I have said, my right honourable friend will be reporting on this matter.

LORD RAGLAN

My Lords, is the noble Lord aware that it is said that the accident rate is abnormally high on both sides of the bridge because drivers swerve all over the road, feeling in their pockets for change?

LORD MOWBRAY AND STOURTON

My Lords, that is another reason why we cannot have different booths for different purposes.