BBC:苏格兰公路不再设收费站

Enoch

[BBC 英文报道 2月10日]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7235131.stm

Scotland becomes toll-road free
       
Workmen removing toll booths on the Forth Bridge
Work has started to remove toll booths on the Forth bridge

The road to no tolls
Tolls have been officially abolished on the Forth and Tay road bridges after years of campaigning by drivers.

The final fee-paying motorists crossed the bridges at midnight before the charges, of £1 on the Forth Bridge and 80p on the Tay Bridge, were lifted.

Scrapping of the tolls was a major manifesto commitment by the SNP during the 2007 Scottish elections.

Legislation to remove the fee was given royal assent last month. It means Scotland now has no chargeable roads.

Funding for both bridges will now be provided entirely by the Scottish Government.

'Great day'

Politicians in Fife have been critical of the tolls, particularly since fees on other bridges in Scotland were abolished.

In recent years, the charges have only applied at the point where drivers cross into the area and have often been described as a 'tax on Fifers.'

Fife Council's leader, Cllr Peter Grant, said: "This is a great day for Fife, as it brings an end to the unfairness that the tolls have caused to people living, working and investing in Fife compared with the rest of Scotland."

Tolls on the Skye Bridge were removed in December 2004 and on the Erskine Bridge in May 2006.

A one-off payment of £14.8m is being made to the Tay Bridge Board to pay off its outstanding debts.