Southampton City Council is consulting on a proposal to increase the Itchen Bridge Toll

Being mindful of the current cost-of-living challenges, the council has determined not to increase the toll paid by residents using the Southampton Resident’s Smart Cities Card

This will remain frozen at £0.40 during peak periods and £0.30 during off peak. The Smart Cities Card is available to any resident living within the boundary of the Southampton Local Authority area.

The proposal is to increase the toll for Class 2 vehicles from £0.80 to £1.00 during peak periods and from £0.70 to £0.80 during off-peak periods. This challenging decision has been made as a result of increased operating costs and rising inflation. Part of the reason for the toll is to manage the volume of traffic crossing the bridge and to prompt drivers travelling from outside of the city to give meaningful consideration to their choice of route. Have your say in our consultation which is open from 9 December 2022 until 6 January 2023.

In addition, the council proposes removing the Itchen Bridge concession for electric vehicles. This was put in place on a temporary basis, as part of a package of measures to promote the use of electric vehicles as they began to emerge into the market. As this technology becomes more widely used, crossings of the Itchen Bridge by electric vehicles need to be managed in the same way as other vehicles in order to alleviate congestion along the associated routes.

The Itchen Bridge was opened in 1977 and as outlined in Section 22 of the Hampshire Act 1983, the toll is maintained both to secure the financial position and future prospects of the bridge and to control the composition and flow of traffic over the bridge, to avoid causing traffic congestion in adjacent areas.  It is unusual for a Local Authority to have sole economic responsibility for a bridge of this size, but Central Government does not provide financial assistance for the ongoing maintenance of the structure.

Councillor Keogh, the Cabinet Member for Transport and District Regeneration said:

“While a toll increase is required to ensure that traffic congestion in the Woolston area continues to be managed, in addition to providing funding for further maintenance, we are keen to ensure that this does not impact on the residents of Southampton at this difficult time. This is why we have once again kept the resident’s discount available at the same level, via the Smart Cities card.”