Tolls
Under the Whitchurch Bridge Act 1792 and the
Whitchurch Bridge Act 1988, the
Whitchurch Bridge Company is empowered to collect Tolls at any time to finance
its operations. However, Tolls are normally collected only from 7am until
9pm on weekdays, 8am to 8pm on Saturdays, and 9am to 8pm on Sundays.
Tolls are collected at the Toll Booth at the Whitchurch-on-Thames (north) end of the Bridge.
Tolls may be paid in cash, or through one of the Company's concessionary prepayment systems which offer substantial discounts to Bridge users based on Bridge Cards (for vehicles under 3.5 tonnes mgw) and books of tickets (for vehicles of 3.5 tonnes mgw and over)
Details of the Toll payment systems are shown below
Cash Tolls (revised 26th October 2009)
The cash Tolls are:
| Class | Description | Cash Toll |
| Class 1 | Vehicles under 3.5 tonnes mgw | 40p |
| Class 2 | Vehicles of 3.5 tonnes mgw and over, up to 7.5 tonnes mgw | £3 |
There is no charge for pedestrians, cycles or motorcycles. There is a statutory weight limit of 7.5 tonnes mgw on the Bridge.
Regulation of Cash Tolls (revised 26th October 2009)
The Company’s Tolls are regulated under the Transport Charges etc (Miscellaneous
Provisions) Act 1954. Tolls may only be increased when permission has been
applied for by the Company by means of a Toll Application, and approval given by
the Secretary of State for Transport in the form of a Department for Transport
Toll Order.
The current Tolls were sought by the Company in its Toll Application submitted on 31st October 2008. The Secretary of State for Transport ordered a Public Inquiry into this Toll Application which was held on 2nd/3rd June 2009. The findings of the Public Inquiry were reported to the Secretary of State in the Inspector's Report (this copy supplied to us excludes the Appendices). The Secretary of State subsequently issued a Decision Letter dated 12th October 2009 approving the increase in regulated Tolls sought by the Company and issued a Department of Transport Toll Order No.2729 dated 12th October 2009. The Company implemented the current Tolls on Monday 26th October 2009.
Bridge Cards and Concessionary Tolls (revised 26th October 2009)
The Company offers concessionary discounted Tolls for all Bridge users, based on Bridge Cards for Class 1 users and prepaid books of tickets for Class 2
users, as follows:
| Class | Description | Cost |
| Class 1 |
Initial Purchase of a Bridge Card Pack Includes £5 (returnable) deposit for your Bridge Card, plus £5 credit for crossings at the discounted rate applicable at the time of use. At the current discounted rate of 13.89p, £5 gives you 36 crossings. |
£10 |
| Class 1 |
Bridge Card Top-up Adds £10 credit to your Bridge Card Account for crossings at the discounted rate applicable at the time of use. At the current discounted rate of 13.89p, £10 gives you 72 crossings. You may top-up only when your "uses remaining" is 40 or less. |
£10 |
| Class 2 |
Book of 20 pre-paid tickets for 20 crossings Gives £20 crossings at the current discounted rate of £1.50 |
£30 |
Regulation of Concessionary Tolls
Concessionary rates and discounts
are unregulated and the Company is under no obligation to offer concessionary
rates, discounts or free crossings to any users. However, the Company has given an
Undertaking that the concessionary Toll for
users of Bridge Cards will not exceed 20p before 1st January 2013,
and will not exceed 30p thereafter unless and until another Toll Application is
approved.
The next increase in the concessionary Toll for Bridge Card users will be early in 2010: the Company has not yet decided on the new rate or the exact implementation date.
Free crossings for Disabled Drivers
The Company allows free crossings
for disabled drivers who are in possession of a valid Vehicle Tax Exemption
Certificate (Forms DLA404 or WPA442) for their own vehicle, or who use a vehicle
provided under the Motability scheme. To take advantage of this concession,
disabled drivers need to pre-register with the Company using the Disabled Driver
Registration Form which may be downloaded here
or obtained on request from the Toll Collectors.
Free crossings for Emergency Vehicles
The Company allows free crossings
for liveried fire appliances, police vehicles and ambulances. Any liveried
ambulance with "ambulance" signage will be allowed a free crossing,
including non-emergency ambulances.
Bridge Cards - Frequently Asked Questions
1.
What are Bridge Cards?
Bridge Cards are part of a computer-based system supplied by Alfia Ltd of Bristol which enables the Whitchurch Bridge Company to offer a concessionary Toll rate to regular Bridge users in an efficient manner. Bridge users who purchase a Bridge Card Pack get a proximity card known as a Bridge Card which is pre-loaded with cash credit for crossings at a discounted rate.
2. How can I obtain a Bridge Cards?
All Bridge users in Class 1 vehicles (ie vehicles under 3.5 tonnes mgw) can buy a Bridge Card Pack from the Toll Collector at the Toll Booth for £10.
3. Why do I have to pay a deposit for my Bridge Card?
Each Bridge Card cost the Company several pounds to purchase, and we need to offer an incentive to Bridge users to take good care of their Bridge Cards so that they are not mislaid and can be topped up and re-used time and time again.
So a deposit of £5 per Bridge Card is currently charged as part of the Bridge Card Pack Initial Purchase price of £10. We think that this amount is a reasonable balance between an affordable deposit and the true cost of the Bridge Card.
Bridge Cards sold prior to Friday 9th March 2007 carried a deposit of £3 - this lower deposit reflected the the lower purchase cost of the initial batch of Bridge Cards, and the Company's policy of offering a significant subsidy on the true cost of Bridge Cards during the initial period of their introduction.
4. How do I use my Bridge Card?
You drive up to the Toll Booth window as now, and stop. You hold your Bridge Card close to the card reader under the window sill, to the right of the LED's. The card reader will bleep when it has read your Bridge Card, and the LED's change from red to green. The system checks your Bridge Card against its database, and if you have some credit left on your Account the barrier will rise automatically.
The system debits the cost of the crossing from your Account at the discounted rate applicable on the date of your crossing, and the display next to the Toll Booth window shows how many pre-paid crossings you have left. Even if you swipe your Bridge Card more than once, and you hear more than one bleep, the system will only debit one crossing from your Bridge Card Account.
When you have driven away the barrier will close automatically behind you.
5. What happens when I use up the the credit on my Bridge Card?
You can top up your Bridge Card with £10 with the Toll Collector at the Toll Booth when you have 40 crossings or fewer remaining.
When you arrive at the Booth you should swipe your Bridge Card in the normal way and hand £10 to the Toll Collector. He/she will use a touch screen computer to credit your Account with £10, and when the transaction has been completed the "number of uses remaining" on the display unit in front of you will increase by 72 crossings. Please check that your Bridge Card has been correctly topped up before driving away, as disputes cannot be easily resolved later.
You can only top up your Bridge Card if you have 40 crossings or less remaining, and you can only make a single £10 top-up at one time.
6. Why do you ask that I register my Bridge Card?
We ask that you register your Bridge Card so that:
a) we can return the £3 or £5 deposit on the Bridge Card to the registered owner if the Card is returned to us
b) we can "stop" the Bridge Card if the registered owner reports to us that it has been lost (see FAQ 9).
We will also use postcode data to get a better understanding of the traffic flows over the Bridge, to help us plan. The data will be analysed and presented in a way that does not identify any individual Bridge Card registered owner or his/her Bridge Card usage.
The Whitchurch Bridge Company is registered under the Data Protection Act. We will not pass or disclose information on any registered user, or his/her Bridge Card usage, to any third party for marketing or any other purposes.
We will disclose Bridge Card usage information to the registered owner of that Bridge Card only, and not to any other person or organisation.
7. What happens if I don’t want to buy a Bridge Card?
You will be able to pay a cash Toll as now. We are not changing the system for paying cash Tolls.
8. Are Bridge Cards available for Class 2 vehicles (ie over 3.5 tonnes mgw)?
No. Concessionary Tolls for Class 2 vehicles are available only by purchasing books of pre-paid tickets.
9. What happens if I lose my Bridge Card?
a) Lost Card has been registered by you
If you had registered your lost Bridge Card, you should let us know as soon as possible either by email or in writing to the Bridge Manager at the Toll Booth, with your name and address and, if known, the Bridge Card number. We will then put a "stop" on your lost Bridge Card.
You will lose your deposit on the lost Bridge Card and you will need to purchase another Bridge Card Pack at £10. When you register your new Bridge Card, we will transfer the "uses left" from your lost Bridge Card to your new Bridge Card. To enable this transfer to take place, please put a note in with your new Bridge Card Registration Form telling us you've lost your previous Bridge Card, quoting its number if possible, and asking for the unused credit to be transferred to your new Card.
b) Lost Card has not been registered by you
If you had not registered your lost Bridge Card, you will need to purchase a new Bridge Card Pack in the normal way. You will lose the deposit on the lost Bridge Card and the value of the outstanding credit on it.
10. Will the Bridge Card discounted Toll always be significantly less than the Cash Toll?
Although the Company is not obliged to offer discounts on its cash Toll, it is a strategic objective of the Company to do so, in order to encourage the use of Bridge Cards and thus reduce operating costs. The current Bridge Card Toll of 13.89p will not be changed before 2010.
In addition, the Company has given an Undertaking that the discounted Toll for Bridge Card users will not exceed 20p before 1st January 2013, and will not exceed 30p thereafter unless and until another Toll Application is approved.
11. My Bridge Card has split because I used it as an ice scraper [screwdriver etc] - will you replace it free of charge?
We do not replace Bridge Cards which have been accidentally damaged by their owners. We will, however, transfer any unused credit to a newly-purchased Bridge Card provided that the new Bridge Card is registered.
To enable this transfer to take place, please enclose your damaged Bridge Card (the serial number of which must be legible) with your new Bridge Card Registration Form, together with a note asking for the unused credit to be transferred to your new Bridge Card.
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