Thursday, June 6, 2013

Is it fair to charge for usage for the full length of the M50?

According to a study by the National Roads Authority there has been an increase in usage of the M50 by 26% since 2008. Most likely because the M50 now works as an efficient ring road to bypass the city, keeping congestion out and getting road users home relatively quickly.

The report  suggests that 4 new toll points should be put in place along the M50, these tolls would possibly net around €100m a year in revenue.

As it stands the M50 is only tolled for drivers who use the Westlink Bridge. The bridge was built by NTR and opened in 1990 and was the first tolled stretch of motorway in the country. NTR were granted a licence to toll the bridge for 30 years.

The NRA bought the Westlink in 2008 for €600m but it also cost around €1bn to upgrade the M50 (that's about €31.2m per kilometer)

Approximately 100,000 drivers use the Westlink per day but the number of cars which use the M50 per day is thought to be three times this number.

The government have come out and said that they do not intend to add any new tolls to the M50.  If they were to add tolls it could be seen as a fairer tolling policy for people who use the entire length of the M50 or it could end up costing those who cross the Westlink  even more in accumulated tolls.

One obvious problem would be increased traffic in the city and minor roads as drivers try to avoid yet another road charge. Thus reducing the amount of people who use the M50 and lowering projected revenues.

Do you want to spread the burden of M50 Tolls or would you rather keep the current system in place?

We don't think it will happen soon, but it is likely to be somewhere in the future. Leo Varadkar has said he has no plan to introduce the tolls. however if we are faced with the congestion which was part of the daily grind of the M50  once more should it at least be considered?


3 comments:

  1. Tolls should exist until the road is paid for, and then removed. The fact that the Irish State now owns the whole of the M50 means they could take away the tolls tomorrow. In the UK only one major is tolled (M6 Toll), but even that is basically an optional route as the older M6 still runs parallel to it. In France, the Autoroute system consists largely of toll roads, EXCEPT around large cities, where daily commuters depend on them.

    The M50 is the most critical road in the country in terms of economic value. Only in Ireland would someone try and solve a problem of congestion by adding tax. If it was truly a congestion issue, then build a luas line along the whole of M50 with large park & ride facilities at each junction. The people who depend on the M50 the most are those travelling the whole distance, i.e. north dublin to south dublin, who would otherwise be going through the city centre. They should not be punished, as travelling the M50 actually burns twice as much fuel (its twice the distance) which in turns means more revenue for the exchequer.

    The lack of a metro north means that most people living in Swords for example but working in south dublin have little option but to take the M50. In actual fact the current toll position is in the most unfair position it could be as there is little to no other route (other than through town) to get to the southside from the northside, or from the southside to the airport. (btw, an average journey from Swords to Carrickmines is 35min via M50, or 100mins by public transport or car through town, which would mean an 2 extra hours commuting per day).

    You might want to check your figures above guys. If 100k people use the toll DAILY, but the total number on the M50 is 300k then even just a spread of the current toll (€2.10) would mean increased charges of €109m per year! (200k extra motorists x €2.10 toll x 5 work days x 52 weeks)

    Tolls are not the way forward. Better public transport and out of box thinking are! Surely a carpool lane during rush hours could be tried on the M50 first?

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  2. Great reply and well put.

    Improved public transport systems is absolutely the way forward. Without improved pubic transport, congestion is inevitable, even if there is a charge for the M50 it will simply send the congestion elsewhere.

    Deterring people to use a road that was built and improved to keep traffic out of the city would be counter productive.

    The only long term solution is better, affordable and reliable public transport.

    (That 100,000 is a typo and is about to be changed, cheers)

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