The State's consumer watchdog has objected to plans to charge motorists almost 60 per cent extra to cross the M50 when barrier-free tolling is introduced.
The objection by the National Consumer Agency, seen by The Irish Times, will trigger an oral hearing into the tolling charges proposed for the M50 by the National Roads Authority (NRA).
The introduction of barrier-free tolling is planned for August 2008.
The consumer body is highly critical of the "excessive" charges proposed by the authority for motorists using the M50 after the current WestLink toll bridge is replaced by electronic tolling.
In an objection submitted to the NRA, the agency has also accused the roads authority of seeking to impose additional hidden toll charges in the form of administration charges, top-up thresholds and minimum top-up amounts.
For a car equipped with an electronic tag, the current WestLink toll of €1.90 will rise to €2 when electronic tolling is introduced, an increase of 5.3 per cent. However, motorists who choose to pay by pre-registering their vehicle and providing card details will have to pay €2.50, an increase of 31.6 per cent.
Road-users who do not pre- register their car will have to pay €3, an increase of 57.9 per cent on the current tariff. The agency says the increases are particularly excessive for occasional users of the M50 for whom buying an electronic tag would not make economic sense.
It points out that there are also costs involved for consumers in using the tags. The agency analysed the charges levied by existing tag providers and found they all charged a monthly administrative fee, operated a high top-up threshold, and had a high minimum top-up amount.
For example, Eazy Pass, the tag operated by the Westlink operator NTR, costs €1.21 a month, has a top-up threshold of €12.70 and a minimum top-up amount of €40. Although Eazy Pass provides free replacements for lost cards, other operators charge up to €33.50 for this service.
The agency says these requirements are excessive and transfer money from the consumer to the provider. "In essence, the effect of current tag charges is to increase considerably the real cost to consumers of electronic billing. They are, in effect, hidden toll charges."
It suggests the NRA should adopt the approach taken by Luas, whose smart card costs €3, has a minimum top-up of €5 and has no administrative charge.
The consumer body also says motorists who pre-register should be given seven days to pay the charge, rather than the 12 hours proposed by the NRA, and those who do not use a tag or pre-register should also be given adequate time to pay. The State plans to pay almost €500 million to buy NTR out of the WestLink toll contract.
