Tyne Tunnel toll payment nonsense

I need to head down to Sunderland today and will be using the Tyne Tunnel for the 1st time in years.

Just went online to check the toll fees and was amazed to read this:

Notes and copper coins cannot be accepted at the toll lanes, and there are no direct debit or credit card facilities at the toll machines.

I mean WTF! You can only pay with coins! How can this make any sense on any level. Surely a contactless payment system would be the obvious and most beneficial for both the operator and users?

Madness.

Rant over.

Yes – you’d have thought that this was the obvious place to use contactless.

I went through the Tyne tunnel on Wednesday and paid (sheepishly) by card. A guy was wandering about with a machine for unprepared numpties such as myself.

Friendly bunch though 🙂

A guy was wandering about with a machine for unprepared numpties such as myself.

That makes it even worse!

They have the merchant account set up to take contactless. Just get a couple of dozen more machines and put them at the booths.

you can register an account online and add £1.70 to it. Uses ANPR which (mostly) works. But yes, a contactless reader next to each booth would be very useful. They’re looking to completely remove the booths & just use anpr with users paying online like the dartford crossing and congestion charges.

Beware of testos roundabout at present. They’re finally building a flyover and will randomly completely close the A19 southbound on evenings and weekends, like they did all day yesterday.

The new silverlink interchange is superb, need to mangle the spine road roundabout now.

I use the tunnel just about every day ..contactless would be good ..but while it’s true that you can’t pay by copper or notes there are “change” machines ( for notes) at either side to the left as you approach the booths ..

With regard to Testos ..signs saying 40mph speed limit with “average” speed cameras are slightly untrue ..there are no cameras ( yet!)

Pay online drive through. Done.

Pay online drive through. Done.

Happened to me recently was that I jumped in the car in Newcastle to drive to Durham, expecting to go down the A1, and only realised after I set off that Mrs GPS was directing me via the tunnel. Online payment in that circumstance would have been tricky 🙂

They’re looking to completely remove the booths & just use anpr…

That’s fair enough for locals who know the area and commute on a daily basis. But what about people coming through with no awareness of such a scheme, or even a tunnel with tolls? Or would you be charged afterwards?

I’m sure there must be some way of paying later if you don’t have the funds available. But it would probably involve taking details, ID etc, and not be very convenient at all.

I can remember, before the 2nd tunnel was built, seeing cars being escorted back the to way they came via the toll booths for the opposing traffic. I always assumed they couldn’t/wouldn’t pay

Top Tip: If you ever run out of petrol in the tunnel, always claim a mechanical problem, it’s cheaper to get towed out (Don’t ask 😆 )

and in vaguely related news, the cycle/pedestrian tunnel has been delayed again but apparently only by a couple more weeks…..that is free, never been through it myself having only moved to the area a few years ago

The ANPR pay later systems are even more irritating.

1) I didn’t realise I had to pay to cross the Mersey.
2) Obviously can’t write down the website address while driving
3) Forgot
4) Got a £20 fine

Likewise the Tunnel only takes coins unless you go through the barrier with an attendant. It’s 2019 FFS! Thankfully that was at 5am and zero traffic as I had to reverse out and go through a barrier with a person!

thisisnotaspoon

Subscriber

The ANPR pay later systems are even more irritating.

1) I didn’t realise I had to pay to cross the Mersey.
2) Obviously can’t write down the website address while driving
3) Forgot
4) Got a £20 fine

Likewise the Tunnel only takes coins unless you go through the barrier with an attendant. It’s 2019 FFS! Thankfully that was at 5am and zero traffic as I had to reverse out and go through a barrier with a person!

The Mersey tunnels now have contactless, but the robbing gits have put my tunnel tag charge up to £1.80 from £1.20 all so Steve Rotheram can say he’s put it down to £1 for Merseyside residents.
So I now pay exactly the same as a non tag user even though I am paying in advance and saving them the hassle of cash (BLOODBOILINGEMOJI)

The Mersey tunnels now have contactless, but the robbing gits have put my tunnel tag charge up to £1.80 from £1.20 all so Steve Rotheram can say he’s put it down to £1 for Merseyside residents.

I saw that pop up on my newsfeed, what’s the point of a residents discount? If you’re local enough then public transport or a bike should be encouraged! Where as I’m not local, and couldn’t avoid driving as I had a car or van full of equipment!

That makes it even worse!

They have the merchant account set up to take contactless. Just get a couple of dozen more machines and put them at the booths.

Why aye Man !

I can’t wait for the pedestrian tunnel to reopen. 🙂

I’m really looking forward to doing old regular loops I haven’t been able to for 6 years. 6 years! It’s an unbelievably long time for the work (whatever the much documented reasons).

I wouldn’t hold your breath. At least it’s gone from 6 monthly delays, to monthly delays.

I’m guessing mid winter when there’ll be less users due to the weather, then there’ll be the uproar from offended people about the cost        *rolls eyes*

Didn’t it take 4 years to build, 60 years ago?

Progress.

Pay online drive through. Done.

Ooh, I like that. When did this become a thing?

Pay online drive through. Done.
Ooh, I like that. When did this become a thing?

Register your car, fill in a load of details, credit the account with the minimum top up.

Leave the Tunnel with my money in their bank account.

For a 1 off journey. Luckily I rarely travel to Sunderland so don’t expect to be using it again for quite some time.

Way more complex than contactless. Funnily enough, I still have an Oyster card somewhere but don’t use when I travel to that there London, as contactless has practically replaced it. Which means TFL have a few pounds of my money which I will never see again.

I travel down from Edinburgh to see my folks who live about a mile south of the tunnel at least twice a month. I’ve stopped using the tunnel as the booths demand more than the current £1.80 on average one time out of every three. I always have the correct money ready and learned a few years ago that putting them in one at a time can prove problematic so I fling them in all together. This no longer seems to impress either so I have to put an extra 20p, 50p or a pound coin in otherwise the barrier doesn’t open. The last time I had to put £3.20 to get through. They’re milking it. And I’m travelling an extra 15 miles or so in order to avoid the hassle.

That’s odd. I’ve had a pass for years as it’s much less hassle, but used it plenty of times with cash before that and never had a problem.

Holy thread resurrection Batman!

TFL have a few pounds of my money which I will never see again

Take oyster with you next time. Go to a booth. Get refund for credit and deposit.

Ka-ching!

Or

Take oyster with you next time. Drop it off in a charity collection point along with the other Oyster cards.

Karma!

Take oyster with you next time. Go to a booth. Get refund for credit and deposit.

Ka-ching!

Or

Take oyster with you next time. Drop it off in a charity collection point along with the other Oyster cards.

Karma!

Not even sure where it is. Buried in a drawer somewhere.

Cqling did you check the rejected coins tray?

Glad it’s not just me, I rolled up just assuming it’d take card because it was 2019 and so why would it not? And then it turns out that they do, it’s just you have to wait 5 minutes for the bloke with the one card reader to come over, while the people behind you do their nut. Bizarre.

Even the severn bridge had contactless before it was free… could have passed their gear on!

Ah, I have fond memories of faffing about with the change machine in the pissing rain wondering where I had accidentally driven through a time warp. Good Times.

Even the severn bridge had contactless before it was free… could have passed their gear on!

And very handy it was too, I was often using both bridges several times a week.
Sadly they went free after my stint with BCA finished.
Difficult to imagine that there’s a toll system that doesn’t use contactless by now.