I GET tired of hearing from our political parties about the tolls on the Severn Bridge and how they will get rid of them or lower them when in office.

I’m sorry to say this saga has been going on for years. I, along with all the big haulage companies, Roy Hughes who was MP for Newport and the Argus Editor, raised concerns about the toll rising at a public inquiry many years ago. But public inquiries being what they are, this was a sop to the public as they went ahead and put up the charges anyway. We, in Wales especially, would like to see the tolls scrapped when the present contract ends and the bridge is transferred back into public ownership. The main concern of all hauliers, motorists and the local MPs is where will the money to maintain the bridge come from? Might I suggest that it comes from the billions already taken from the long-suffering motorist. When I attended that public inquiry many years ago, the government was receiving a total of £17.5 billion pounds a year from the motorist one way or another (and only about a third of this was spent on the roads and infrastructure). The last time I heard a figure mentioned a few years ago it was £41 billion, and I’m sure today this has risen substantially. The cost of transport is a drain on our economy, for hauliers and drivers, as well as families and workers at the coal face. It’s about time the Government stops using transport as a cash cow and gives a bit back than it is at the present moment in time. Norman Plaisted Vivian Road Newport