There are many indicators that the tolls on the Port Mann Bridge and Golden Ears Bridge are causing hardship for Langley residents.
The high ridership on the 555 bus from Carvolth Park and Ride to Braid Station is at least partially attributed to the bridge tolls. The buses are often full when they leave Langley in the mornings, and that’s before picking up passengers at one Surrey stop.
An online Times reader poll last week had two-thirds of respondents stating that they used the new bridge less because of the tolls — something that is borne out by actual crossing figures. The Port Mann Bridge is not generating the revenue that was expected from tolls and thus is not being paid off nearly as fast as the provincial government had hoped.
It’s easy enough to tell. Despite ongoing construction, the bridge is almost never backed up westbound in the morning rush hour or eastbound in the evening rush hour. The old bridge, which had fewer lanes but was free, was routinely backed up during rush hour, and often at many other times.
Some comments made during a recent telephone town hall meeting about the proposed transit tax centred around the unfairness of South Fraser residents having the only two toll bridges in the province. People also resent the fact that the improved highway west of the Port Mann can be used for free.
Given that plans call for tolls on the new Pattullo and Deas Island bridges, residents living south of the Fraser may be facing tolls on four of five river crossings within a decade or so.
