A new toll system for the Humber Bridge is set to be introduced, involving the removal of the remaining toll booths and an increase in the bridge charge.
However, despite bridge management announcing the ‘countdown to a new tolling system’, no date has been announced for when these changes will be introduced.
The new system, which will come into effect ‘later this year’, will see drivers with HumberTAG accounts - which launched in 2015 – transfer onto the new system, Humber Bridge Toll.
This new toll-paying method uses technologies such as automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) and artificial intelligence (AI) to automatically deduct payment from vehicles registered to a Humber Bridge Toll account.
Alternative payment method options, including a website, payment app, phone payments, and the option to pay in cash at Paypoint locations across the region, will also be added for drivers without pre-paid accounts.
Bridge users will have until 11.59pm the next day to pay, a change that ‘brings [the bridge] into line with other toll crossings in England’, according to bridge management.
To help ease drivers into the new toll system, Humber Bridge has published digital guides that can be downloaded here. Physical copies are also expected to be made available at ‘key locations’ across the region, including local libraries.
Andrew Arundel, chief executive officer of the Humber Bridge, said: ‘It’s an exciting development in the bridge’s history and one that will enable everyone to cross without having to stop at the toll booths, as well as introducing more ways to pay.’
Toll hikes
Drivers without an account will see the fee for a car rise from £1.50 to £2, with the cost for vans increasing from £4 to £5, along with an increase from £12 to £15 for HGVs.
Those with an automatic payment account will see an increase from £1.35 to £1.50 for cars and £12 instead of the previous £10.80 for HGVs.
Motorcycles will continue to cross for free, and the concession scheme for drivers with disabilities will continue, as well as the one for those using the bridge to access Castle Hill Hospital from the south bank of the Humber Estuary.
Mr Arundel said: ‘Despite significant increases in the cost of operating and maintaining the bridge, the toll has remained frozen since 2012.
‘We continue to reinvest toll receipts into the bridge’s ongoing maintenance, securing the structure for at least the next 100 years.’
Image credit: Shutterstock @Luke Broughton
