Tyne Tunnel operator set to take stronger measures against toll evaders
Anyone dodging Tyne Tunnel fees has been told to expect increased enforcement action.
TT2, the operator of the Tyne Tunnels, has strengthened the measures that it can take against toll evaders.
It has previously been confirmed that TT2 has county court judgement (CCJ) rulings in place to enforce payment among repeat offenders.
Following the amnesty period, TT2 has now obtained a High Court Writ against those who did not engage with paying the Tyne Tunnel fees.
It means that these individuals will have already received a notice of enforcement letter informing them that a High Court Enforcement Officer will be visiting their property to seek payment of the debt in full or take control of goods until the debt is paid.
Adrian Wallace, CEO at TT2, has stated that it is unfair on all the motorists that do pay Tyne Tunnel fees to face the burden created by those who don’t.
He said: “Around 98% of our customers do pay their tolls on time, and it is unfair on those customers that a minority of people do not.
“We cannot allow our paying customers to bear the burden of the potential detriment created by those who do not pay.
“The purpose of the tunnels is to provide significant value to our region, by providing increased social mobility and economic opportunities across the North East.
“However, the provision and operation of this infrastructure to the public relies entirely upon the people who use them to pay their toll.
“We have made multiple attempts to contact these individuals to settle their debt before this stage, therefore these people are very aware of the unacceptable behaviour that they continue to display.
“They will already have received multiple letters and have failed to engage or ignored those letters and it is TT2’s right to take action as a point of last resort.”
TT2 has reminded members of the public that the Tyne Tunnels are funded solely by tolls and do not receive any government funding.
The toll is used by the North East Combined Authority to pay back the debts incurred in the building of the second tunnel and the refurbishment of the first.
It also covers the costs of the extensive 24/7 operation, maintenance and management of both vehicular tunnels, provided by TT2.
Since the Tyne Tunnels’ transition to open road tolling in November 2021, the percentage of people not paying their toll has fallen by around 60%, with unpaid journeys equating to 5.39% in the first month of open road tolling, dropping to 2.10% in March 2024.
You can find more information about paying Tyne Tunnel tolls by visiting: https://www.tt2.co.uk/.