BARRIER-FREE tolling on the M50 appeared to run smoothly for its first big test yesterday as schools reopened after the summer break.
AA Roadwatch has said there were no major delays in traffic, but warned that traffic was not particularly heavy.
The National Roads Authority said they were happy with the way the system worked, though it was too early to say how many drivers using the road yesterday were registered to pay the toll.
Over 131,000 customers had registered with eFlow yesterday in order to use the M50; 60 per cent of these had opted to use the new tag system while the remaining opted for video registration.
But not everyone was happy with the new arrangements.
The Irish Road Haulage Association (IRHA) has requested a meeting with Minister of State for Transport Noel Ahern to try to persuade him to give its members free access to the West-Link during business hours.
Jimmy Quinn, president of the IRHA, said hauliers have been forced out of Dublin city and on to a toll-paying motorway.
“We have no alternative route to take and these additional costs put additional pressure on the hard-pressed haulier,” he said.
The organisation is to hold a meeting to ballot its members on future action.
A spokesman for the Department of Transport said there are no plans currently under consideration to remove tolls on the M50 for HGVs. The department set up an inter-agency task force to look at ways of assisting the industry, he said, and officials and Ministers were in regular contact with the IRHA.
Other unhappy M50 users include one man who paid €2 last week, but will have to pay a €5.10 toll for his unregistered vehicle this week.
Brian Kielty, who drives a jeep-like pick-up truck, said the vehicle is less than two metres high and fitted under the old toll barrier.
“There is no difference between my jeep and a Range Rover, yet I’ll pay €2.10 more. In future, I’ll be driving through the Phoenix Park,” he said.
Hugh Creegan, head of commercial operations and strategic planning at the NRA, said vehicles that exceed two tonnes in weight, including pick-up trucks, should never have paid the same rate as a private car. “Now, because of the new technology, we know the unladen weight of every vehicle. Effectively, technology has caught up with this man.”
