Tyne Tunnel: Total number of vehicles which missed payments in first half of 2023 confirmed by crossing team

The Tyne Tunnel has released a series of numbers showing usage and the amount of drivers paying their fees on time.

From January to May the data shows over 7.7 million vehicles used the crossing under the River Tyne between January 2023 and May 2023 with the busiest month for the tunnel coming in March when 1,662,276 vehicles travelled between South Tyneside and North Tyneside.

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The data also shows what percentage of journeys were paid for on time. Anyone using the tunnel needs to pay their fee after making the journey with the payment window closing at midnight the day after the trip.

On average over the five month period an average of 97.484% of travellers per month paid for their journey within the payment window, meaning a total of 196,388 were made without the subsequant payment coming within the allocated time frame between the start of the year and the end of May.

The total number of late payments has also increased throughout the year with 97.76% of payments coming in time in February. This was reduced to 97.01% of payments in May.

The data also showed every month saw a faster crossing of the Tyne compared to the pre-Tyne Pass.

Data on the number of vehicles using the tunnel and the percentage which paid on time is available below:

January: 1,497,883 vehicles, 35,499 missed payments

February: 1,469,471 vehicles, 32,916 missed payments

March: 1,662,276 vehicles, 37,567 missed payments

April: 1,539,891 vehicles, 41,885 missed payments

May: 1,622,785 vehicles, 48,521 missed payments