MAG Ireland opposes any general use of road tolls in this country, however implemented. MAG believes in the fundamental right of the Irish Citizen to move around the state unimpeded by tolls.
We believe tolls to be an anachronistic, inefficient means of financing road development and maintenance. They are detrimental to traffic flow and victimise people whose work involves them in an above average amount of road travel.
MAG Ireland’s efforts around this issue are three fold;
- To exempt motorcycles from any toll scheme
- To scrap or remove existing tolls
- To prevent new tolls being implemented
Where new highways, tunnels and bridges are concerned MAG Ireland accepts that there may be a case for these to be built specifically to carry toll-paying traffic provided all reasonable public consultation is carried out and general public acceptance obtained in the specific geographical areas and user groups concerned, and provided that such roads tunnels and bridges will attract sufficient tolls to finance them on the basis of their own merits and only then to discharge the debt and not as a profit-making scheme.
MAG Ireland opposes any attempt to improve the viability or 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.
Congestion Charging
While there is as yet no location in the state where congestion charging is implemented, it has been mooted on a number of occasions. MAG Ireland’s position on congestion charges is simply that motorcycles don’t cause congestion and should be exempt as is the case in the UK, Sweden and elsewhere. MAG Ireland will vigorously oppose any attempt to foist congestion charges on motorcycles.
