Citation and commencement

1.-(1) This Order may be cited as the Severn Bridges Tolls Order 2017.

(2) It will come into force on 1st January 2018.

Level of Tolls

2.  The tolls that may be levied in respect of vehicles within the categories referred to in section 8(1) Severn Bridges Act 1992 using either of the bridges shall be as follows-

Revocation

3.  The Severn Bridges Tolls Order 2016(2) is revoked.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order)

Section 9(2)(b) of the Severn Bridges Act 1992 ("the Act") provides for the tolls for the use of the two bridges to be fixed by annual orders made in December of each year. This Order fixes the tolls payable for use of the bridges, commonly known as the Severn Bridge and the Second Severn Crossing, during the year 2018.

The tolls will be payable only for traffic travelling from east to west and for vehicles (other than those exempted by section 8(5) of the Act) within the categories specified in section 8(1) of the Act. These are (1) motor cars and motor caravans, (2) small goods vehicles and small buses and (3) other goods vehicles and buses.

Section 9 of the Act provides that tolls are to be adjusted annually and that these adjustments should accord to the percentage increase in the Retail Prices Index between March 1989 and September 2017. The concessionaire's agreement is required in order for there to be a lesser increase or no increase in tolls. The concessionaire has agreed to there being no increase in tolls for 2018, meaning that they remain fixed at the 2017 levels for all three classes of vehicle; this is in accordance with the provisions of section 10 of the Act.