Hard Times Headed For Wales

[Toto deVeer]

I've noted that there is a large contingent from Wales on the forum and I thought this might be of interest.

Today I noted the print edition of the Western Mail with big bold headlines along the lines of something like "Severn toll income drops 20% last 2 years". Funny though that the online version has sanitised things a little bit:

No sign of an end to Severn Bridge tolls

(ed: what a great way to obscure really bad news!)

The biggest drop has been in the heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) that transport goods by road between England and Wales.

It means that unless traffic picks up, the £1.8bn bill – £995m in 1989 prices – to pay for the second bridge will take longer to collect.

The development comes just a few months after it emerged that taxpayers could be left with a bill for maintenance of the bridges once they revert to public ownership.

Business leaders today called for a freeze on toll prices, currently £5.50 for cars, next year to help boost the number of trips being made into South Wales.

MPs also described the drop in traffic flow across the Severn River as “alarming”.

Jim Clune, Severn River Crossings PLC general manager, said: “In the last couple of years we have seen year-on-year reductions of up to 20% traffic.

“It’s the same kind of figure that has been reported by other toll operations.

Link: Western Mail

Well this is just more confirmation of what we all suspected, that Wales' economy has fallen into the crapper. Waiting to see what this does to house prices. It won't be pretty.

Anyway, there's only one way to deal with this: "I'm gonna buy me a Mercury and cruise it up and down the road...". Enjoy the "Mercury Blues"...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFj0fARgdSo

Edited September 20, 2010 by Toto deVeer

[The Masked Tulip]

Apparnently bridge traffic is down on all UK toll bridges according to BBC Wales tonight but, yes, it is also a sign of recession.

BBC Wales were saying that lorries and commuter traffic is down with the belief that businesses are preferring to set up on the Bristol side of the bridge. Likewise, people on holiday are tending not to pay to cross the bridge and going to the West Country instead allegedly.

Western Mail online is a laugh - very pro Welsh language, tend not to report house price indices falling IMPO.

[Toto deVeer]

Apparnently bridge traffic is down on all UK toll bridges according to BBC Wales tonight but, yes, it is also a sign of recession.

BBC Wales were saying that lorries and commuter traffic is down with the belief that businesses are preferring to set up on the Bristol side of the bridge. Likewise, people on holiday are tending not to pay to cross the bridge and going to the West Country instead allegedly.

Western Mail online is a laugh - very pro Welsh language, tend not to report house price indices falling IMPO.

No doubt the true stats are probably worse. This is big news if all over the UK because there is a direct line between business activity and shipping, no matter what the gdp figures report, the true drop in (real) gdp is probably something closer to the drop in shipping/trucking figures.

[Nickolarge]

I used to share South Wales as my 'area' with another driver. I used to use the bridge but he used to rearrange his 'run' so that he could swing off the M4 at Swindon and cut across to Gloucester and then down into Wales without paying the toll.

He used to joke that he would gladly pay to get out of Wales but not to get in