In response to the recent announcement by the NRA of the eight Public Private Partnership toll road schemes on national primary routes, the Irish Motorcyclists' Action Group (MAG Ireland), the representative body for motorcyclists in Ireland, opposes any general use of road tolls in this country, however implemented. We believe such schemes to be an anachronistic, inefficient, means of financing road development and maintenance, detrimental to traffic flow and fundamentally unacceptable.

MAG believes that road pricing would be detrimental to the economy in that it would distort well established work patterns in key sectors of the economy and victimise those people whose work involves them in an above average amount of road travel, such as couriers and sales representatives. MAG further takes the view that road pricing would be self-defeating as the most likely effect would be a redistribution of traffic volume onto the roads least able to cope with an increase. MAG believes that such a re-distribution would result in heavier road damage in the long run, together with increased risk to most road user groups.

MAG holds that a public highway is a route upon which all persons, rich or poor, can pass and re-pass as often as they wish, and at times they wish, without hindrance or charge. This definition should remain the norm and that there should not be any significant erosion of or departure from this principle, where existing highways are concerned. We recognise that there may be a case to build new highways, tunnels and bridges specifically to carry toll-paying traffic. All reasonable public consultation should be carried out and general public and specific user groups’ acceptance obtained in appropriate and specific geographical areas. Such roads, tunnels, and bridges should be capable to attract sufficient tolls to finance them on the basis of their own merits (construction only) and not for profit.

MAG further opposes any attempt to improve the viability of attractiveness of such schemes by imposing artificial limitations on the existing network, running it down, failing to maintain or otherwise dealing with it in such a way as to render it less attractive than toll-roads.

In addition, speaking directly to motorcycles as a means of transport, MAG takes the view that motorcycles should be recognised as an environmentally friendly mode of transport, the increased use of which would vastly reduce damage to the infrastructure. As such, motorcycling should be encouraged by total exemption from tolls. Whilst MAG is acutely aware of the need to reduce congestion, it does not see road pricing as being the solution.