Heading over to Wales tomorrow. Do they take cards for the toll crossing?

Cheers

I think they’ve started, yes.*

Finally.

*I have not googled so could be talking out of my arse. I often am.

I looked on the website but it didnt say anyhing

I’ve just figured out why I think they have.

On the way to the velodrome a few months back, the guy driving paid with a debit card. D’oh. 🙂

£6 for the pleasure of crossing now and I’ve not seen a card payment yet. Although it was a month or so ago when I last crossed.

Yes they do take cards. I’m usually stuck in the queue behind the twunt paying by card.

From the wikipedia page:

In contrast to the original Severn Bridge crossing, the tolls are collected on the Welsh side near Rogiet (but in the same westbound direction as on the first crossing). Tolls can be paid for by cash, debit/credit card or cheque, or by use of the Severn TAG system, which is a wireless electronic toll collection system that does not require vehicles to stop. Cash can be paid at the manned booths or coins can be used at the automated coin gates.

From their own webshite:

Payment can be made by either Cash or Cheque with a valid cheque guarantee card only.

I’m usually stuck in the queue behind the twunt payinging by card.

Now if they brought in contactless card payment, that might speed things up a bit.

Yes they do take cards but don’t be a twit and hold everyone else up take some change and fly through the coin bucket

And there was me wondering what use cheques were. Now i know, i could have huge amounts of fun on the bridge paying with them!!!

What kind of card system do they have to cause such a delay? never seems a problem paying by card on french motorway tolls.

I assume it isnt like the M6 toll then as that is pretty simple to pay by card!

It’s really difficult, the kiosk person hands you a reader, you put your card in and type in a pin. They then give you a receipt along with your card. Then you have to drive off. It’s a bloody nightmare I tell you.

What kind of card system do they have to cause such a delay? never seems a problem paying by card on french motorway tolls.

Just the chip’n’pin thing on a wire. Just think maybe there’s more of a bottleneck at the SSC than at your average French tool booth.

Hmmm – I am coming from Bedford – Need to be in Radyr by 9. I am planning on going on the M1, M25, M4 which would put me on the bridge about 7.45ish. Would I be better of going up the M1, M6, M42, M5 and then M50 and missing the bridge altogether? According to google it is only another 12 miles and 20 mins but if I get stuck in traffic ill prob make that up. Ill easily be through the M6 before that starts getting busy but not so sure about the M25

I suppose to be fair there are plenty of people who manage to cause a queue when paying with cash. The ones who wait till they reach the both and only then start rumaging through the glove box looking for enough spare change.

I would go by the first route.

The delays at the bridge aren’t that bad. Not sure about roadworks on the M50 at the moment…there seems to be lots of them all the time the last few years.

I think this is the official guide

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JfF88LbSFE[/video]

I think the M50 is down to 1 lane for a fair chunk, and there always seems to be crashes, floods etc. If you want to avoid toils, i would take the a40 or the senic a4136, or if i had to the river road a38.

Not bothered about the tolls as work are paying. Just wanted to go the best way really!

I assume you pay only going into Wales still?

Yup, still free to get out

but surely you will be using the old severn crossing?

I believe that its still cash/cheques/TAG only guys!

I’m still seething from about 5 years ago, when i discovered, at the bridge, that they didn’t accept cards

I didn’t have cash nor a cheque book

I jokingly said “Do you accept Swedish Kroner’, and the woman said yes!

Sadly, i only had about £4.50 worth of Kroner, so it didn’t work

They closed all the barriers of except mine, sent a Land Rover around and made me follow it to a service lane and sent me East bound on the M4. It took me an hour to find a cash machine and i was very late for my meeting

My own fault i know – but it was 2006 for gods sake!!!

Mrs Carlos had the pleasure of the closed lanes and barriers with a fully flashy lit up landy when she first used the crossing and tried to pay with a card back in 2008.

She really thought the bloke was taking the urine and tried to laugh it off until they closed everything and brought out the landy, promptly told her to follow and escorted her back to England.

I did not notice anything new about card payments when I went over two weeks ago. The queues did seem to take a bit longer though so maybe that was it.

If you factor a 10 minute wait into your journey you should be fine – try to pick the lane with the shortest queue on approach (but make sure you do not go to a Tag or cash bucket (if you need a receipt) lane).

Evidently, I was seeing things then. 😕

They took cards last year when the golf was in town, but then removed the facility. Maybe they have reintroduced it for the Olympics?

Either way, I wouldn’t take the chance.

Cash it.

They closed all the barriers of except mine, sent a Land Rover around and made me follow it to a service lane and sent me East bound on the M4. It took me an hour to find a cash machine and i was very late for my meeting

Been there. Was late for a wedding because of it. I knew we needed cash but was caught out by it costing so much. I was used to crossing the Forth which, at the time was 80p. I couldn’t believe how expensive it was.

I like the design of the cash bucket machine, you just have to hope you don’t get any rejected coins…

Pretty sure it is card-friendly now though, last went over 2 weeks ago and someone in front paid by card.

They do take cards now, yes. It’s been about a year or so? First trialled for the Ryder cup, then it went away, then it came back.

The cash bucket machine is a gamble. Shorter queues, and quicker UNLESS it fails to register someone’s coins (fakes perhaps) and then you’re screwed. About a 1/10 chance I reckon 🙂

10p lol

Yep, now use it everytime; I try to make their lives as awkward as possible for being overcharging twunts.

If you have any Euros, you can make their lives hell by paying in that.

ETA: Someone paying by card holding you up for an extra 30 seconds is nothing compared to the absolutely ridiculous 50mph crap you have to endure now once through the bridge…

The old Severn bridge is free in both directions. You’ll need a bicycle…

Whatever happened to the scrapping the tolls thing once it was paid for (with enough in the kitty)? Or was that just someone’s wishful-thinking that became an Internet rumour?

Transfers to WAG ownership in 2 years I think?
They reckon they can turn a profit at £2/vehicle……
Could be an earner, wouldn’t be surprised if booths go up the other end too though. England may want a slice of that pie…..

Someone paying by card holding you up for an extra 30 seconds is nothing compared to the absolutely ridiculous 50mph crap you have to endure now once through the bridge.

When was the last time you drove through there?

Well I went through. Was the only bit of the journey that held me up. Just seemed a bit in inefficient really. three want that much traffic just seemed to take an age to get through.