Good news for hauliers

Fool 5000

Good news for hauliers

Hauliers that will be forced to use the Dublin Port Tunnel when it opens later this year have been told by Dublin City Council that they can use the East-Link toll bridge for free.

There were major concerns raised by the IRHA after the local authority banned all heavy goods vehicles from the city centre, thus making trucks use the toll bridge and tunnel.
Hauliers would have to pay huge amounts a year just to use the facilities and a protest convoy was held in Dublin last month to demonstrate against this.

It is reported that Dublin City Council has agreed to waive the toll fee for trucks, which is currently E4.80 per vehicle.

MrPudding

Wow. Something sensible.

MrP

markpb

Does this mean that DCC are going to have to compensate NTR for each exepted lorry that passed across the East link?

darkman2

Fool 5000 wrote:

Good news for hauliers

Hauliers that will be forced to use the Dublin Port Tunnel when it opens later this year have been told by Dublin City Council that they can use the East-Link toll bridge for free.

There were major concerns raised by the IRHA after the local authority banned all heavy goods vehicles from the city centre, thus making trucks use the toll bridge and tunnel.
Hauliers would have to pay huge amounts a year just to use the facilities and a protest convoy was held in Dublin last month to demonstrate against this.

It is reported that Dublin City Council has agreed to waive the toll fee for trucks, which is currently E4.80 per vehicle.

OMG theyve actually done something right! This is unbelievable:eek:

murphaph

Seems like the taxpayer will have to compensate NTR for this measure despite what Mr. Phillips says (NTR won't allow 1 penny go by so the corpo will have to hand over tolls from cars to cover the trucks, so that is a cost to the taxpayer as other services in the city will have to suffer!). Great :rolleyes: As if those cnuts haven't made enough out of that poxy little bridge.

No agreement on freight toll charges: NTR

25 April 2006 17:16

National Toll Roads, which owns the lease on the East Link Toll Bridge, has said it has neither met with nor received proposals from Dublin City Council in relation to allowing freight trucks use the bridge for free when the Dublin Port Tunnel opens.

Yesterday, at a meeting with the Irish Road Haulage Association, Dublin City Council told hauliers that its policy under the Heavy Goods Vehicle Strategy would be that tolls on the Eastlink would be waived.

This would be to encourage trucks coming from the southside to use the tunnel.

The Irish Road Haulage Association had claimed hauliers operating out of the port area on the south bank would have been penalised when travelling in and out of the port, once trucks are banned from the city streets from January 2007.

Their only means of access to the port, and consequently the port tunnel at that stage, will be via the bridge. Currently it is estimated at least 750 containers cross the bridge each day, at a cost of €4.30 per journey.

Dublin City Council Director of Traffic, Michael Phillips, said the cost of opening the toll bridge free of charge to trucks would not be borne by the taxpayer.

He said that while the matter still had to be discussed with Dublin Port Company and National Toll Roads, who along with Dublin City Council share the revenue generated by the bridge, he said he anticipated that an agreement could be reached so that the cost to the city council was neutral.

When asked if this meant revenue from the bridge, normally used by the council for other purposes, would have to be foregone, Mr Phillips said the amount received from the bridge was very small in relation to the overall council budget.

However, the Labour spokesperson on transport, Róisín Shorthall, called on the council to ensure that the taxpayer does not lose out as a result of the decision.

source

narommy

darkman2 wrote:

OMG theyve actually done something right! This is unbelievable:eek:

Did they have any other choice

Drax

It would probably be cheaper to build a new bridge across the river, allowing trucks to bypass NTR's little money-spinner.

murphaph

Drax wrote:

It would probably be cheaper to build a new bridge across the river, allowing trucks to bypass NTR's little money-spinner.

I was thinking the same myself. I'd nearly do it out of spite even if it cost us more Surely that toll mst be coming to an end though? When did it open?

MT

This actually seems like joined up government for once. No toll for the DPT for truckers and now none for the East link too. At this rate Dublin could well end up with a fully joined up orbital motorway... well, maybe a little optimistic.

thebaz

can someone explain to me why the truckers need to use the East link bridge , to access the Port tunnel . I thought port tunnel was only for trucks entering and leaving Dublin Port , and tunnel will end at M50, somewhere near Santry .

corktina

i think the free use of the east link is more to do with the trucks being banned from the North Quay than to do with the Port Tunnel..(which incidentally will also link the M50 to the east link.....

murphaph

bax wrote:

can someone explain to me why the truckers need to use the East link bridge , to access the Port tunnel . I thought port tunnel was only for trucks entering and leaving Dublin Port , and tunnel will end at M50, somewhere near Santry .

It's to allow trucks from the southeast approaches to access the port. The HGV exclusion cordon will be roughly around the canal rings give or take, so trucks will be perfectly able to use the N11 and cut over to the EL bridge to reach Dublin Port. Long term, the PDs have the right idea on moving the port completely but it's a bigger operation than people may think. Be well cool to see it happen though.

Victor

Not quite. For larger trucks the only access at all to the south docks (container terminal + coal, cement and scrap metal) will be via the East Link bridge.

See map here: http://www.dublincity.ie/living_in_the_city/getting_around/by_car/traffic_management/development_of_draft_hgv_management_strategy.asp

jd

I am kind wondering are they just trying to avoid using the west link toll bridge if coming from the south, as well as the south east...

markpb

Drax wrote:

It would probably be cheaper to build a new bridge across the river, allowing trucks to bypass NTR's little money-spinner.

I think the contract with NTR expressly forbids building another liffey crossing. I wonder if a tunnel could be construed as a 'crossing'?

Victor

jd wrote:

I am kind wondering are they just trying to avoid using the west link toll bridge if coming from the south, as well as the south east...

Yup thats hittting the nail on the head.