MOTORISTS WHO dispute tolls levied under the new barrier-free tolling system on the M50 will have no recourse to an independent appeals procedure, the National Roads Authority (NRA) has confirmed.
The existing toll barriers on the West-Link bridge of the M50 will be raised tonight after midnight after 18 years in operation. The change to largely electronic means of collecting the toll is expected to be accompanied by widespread confusion, and even the NRA has forecast teething problems after the switch to barrier-free tolling.
The authority says there has been a last-minute rush by motorists to apply for electronic tags or register their numberplates, its two preferred tolling options. Some 100,000 drivers have registered with the new eFlow tolling system.
However, many thousands more are expected to not register and instead use a pay-as-you-go option, where the toll must be paid by 8pm the following day.
Asked yesterday what motorists disputing a toll should do, an NRA spokesman said they should contact the eFlow call centre. If the issue is not resolved, responsibility passes to the customer care team in BetEire Flow, the French consortium operating the M50 tolling on behalf of the NRA.
The spokesman continued: "Should the motorist wish to dispute the transaction/toll notice further, BetEire Flow will refer the matter to senior personnel in the NRA who will review the case in detail and liaise directly with the customer."
He said the clock would not stop where motorists made complaints as this would present "an unworkable scenario that could be used to frustrate the arrangements". Motorists face fines of up to €146 where tolls are not paid.
Meanwhile, it has emerged the State has already begun collecting tolls on the M50. Ownership of the West-Link bridge passed from the privately owned National Toll Roads to the NRA on the last day of July, NTR has confirmed. Since then, NTR has continued to collect tolls at the West-Link toll plaza on behalf of the State authority.
NTR also confirmed 120 staff will be made redundant when the barriers are lifted tonight. A spokesman said this was regrettable but "unavoidable in the circumstances".
"As soon as the State announced its intention to purchase the bridge, the company immediately engaged with the employees in negotiating a generous redundancy package that reflected their long years of service." The spokesman declined to specify the terms of the package but one worker said they were paid 10 weeks' salary for every year of service.
Research published yesterday shows traffic speeds falling as low as 4km/h at the existing toll plaza. Under current barrier tolling arrangements, travelling south from the Finglas exit to the Naas Road exit on the M50 takes five minutes less than the same journey northwards.
Software company Mapflow has used a number of probe vehicles using GPS technology on the M50 this month to measure average journey times on the motorway and identify congestion points.
It intends to continue measuring journey times in September to see what difference barrier-free tolling makes.
According to its research, it takes an average of 17.5 minutes to travel between the two junctions; 15 minutes travelling south and 20 minutes travelling north. However, on the slowest weekday, last August 12th, it took all of 54 minutes to make the 11km trip south.
There was some good news for the NRA yesterday when hauliers decided to call off their threat of a campaign of "civil disobedience" in protest at barrier-free tolling.
The Irish Road Haulage Association (IRHA) decided at a board meeting not to take any action for the immediate future.
The IRHA said its members were still angry at the toll and the removal of discounts of up to 15 per cent available under current arrangements.
However, it decided not to take action because of the operational difficulties in trying to avoid payment of the toll.