New Itchen Bridge toll charge to begin for non-Southampton residents

From Monday 7 April, the Itchen Bridge toll charge will increase for non-Southampton residents. The toll charges will remain the same for Southampton residents with a SmartCities card

The new toll charges have been brought in following a consultation which took place in February.

For Southampton residents without a SmartCities card and non-Southampton residents, the tariffs will increase by 20p. The new tariffs will help to ease congestion in the city by encouraging vehicles to take other routes better designed for high levels of traffic. It will also raise additional money to pay for improvements and maintenance on the bridge.

Proposed schedule

Class	Maximum toll	Residents’ concession	Local resident concession	Local commercial concession	Local taxi concession
One (motorcycles and three-wheeled vehicles)	Free	Free	Free	Free	-
Two (cars and light vans)	£1.20	40p	40p	40p	-
Three (large vans, like transit vans, and large 4x4s)	£1.60	-	60p	60p	£1.20
Four (HGVs, buses, coaches, mobile homes, and other large vehicles)	£40	-	£3	£3	-

The Itchen Bridge requires continued investment which is in part due to the volume of vehicle crossings made. It is unusual for Local Authorities to have sole financial responsibility for bridges of this size and structure and because the crossing does not serve a key strategic transport route, it does not receive financial support from central government.

We are currently in the final stages of planning for the delivery of the maintenance works and we will publish the confirmed details in due course.

Councillor Eammon Keogh, Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport said:

“I would encourage local people to sign up to the SmartCities scheme because Southampton residents with a SmartCities card are unaffected by the new toll and will continue to receive a discount when crossing the bridge.”

Residents can sign up to SmartCities or can collect an application form at Gateway or a Southampton City Council library.