By Steve Bargeton, political editor

SCOTLAND’S NEW transport minister yesterday dampened hopes that tolls might be scrapped on the Tay and Forth road bridges.

A findings of the long-awaited review of the charges on the two bridges and Scotland’s only other tolled crossing, the Erskine Bridge, are expected in the autumn, probably November.

Last December, ministers abolished tolls on the Skye Bridge arguing that they were wrong in principle, raising hopes that the same principle might apply when reconsidering charges on the remaining three bridges.

But yesterday, in an exclusive interview with The Courier on the eve of a visit to Dundee today, transport minister Tavish Scott said that although he is keeping an open mind, he believed that scrapping tolls would lead to more congestion.

“I struggle to see how we could remove the tolls and not have increased congestion in relation to Tay and Forth but I am very prepared and more than happy to consider carefully what the review comes up with,” he said.

“We do have congestion pinch points in our roads network some of which relate to the bridges, particularly to the Forth.

“In those circumstances and given that we have exacting emission standards to meet, I think we do need to consider how best we tackle that congestion to make goods and people move more quickly around the country.”

Mr Scott’s predecessor as transport minister Nicol Stephen was on record as saying that Scotland would “grind to a halt” if tolls were abolished.

The new minister was not prepared to go that far, but cited congestion as the key factor in determining the future of bridge tolls.

“I want to be open in responding to the review,” he said. But I have to analyse the evidence in relation to congestion.

“If the evidence is that abolishing the tolls on the Tay and Forth would increase congestion, I think any government would have to take that into account.”

But if it was right in principle to abolish tolls on the Skye Bridge is it not right in principle to scrap them on the Tay and Forth?

“It is a fair question in principle,” said Mr Scott.

“I think there were extraordinary political circumstances in Skye and the construction of that bridge and all the politics of that made it a bit different.

“That is why the cabinet of the day and the government of the day made that decision last year.”

On thorny question a second Forth Road Bridge, Mr Scott said that although Executive policy is against it, he accepts that it is an issue that will continue to be debated.

“The line is that we have no plans for a second bridge,” he said. “But I consider debate on that still entirely healthy.”

Mr Scott added, “I would certainly expect in our national transport strategy that issue will emerge, not least because of the feedback from local authorities and other interested parties.

“So I have no view on it at the moment other than to be quite sure it will remain an issue in the national transport strategy.”

Mr Scott believes there is no single answer to tackling the traffic congestion that chokes many of Scotland’s vital arteries every working day.

Encouraging people to give up their cars and switch to public transport is key, but he takes on board the need for reliable train and bus services.

“How can we encourage people to get the train every morning?” he asked.

“I went across to the Open at St Andrews—40,000 (people journeyed by train) during four days to the Open.

“If we can do that for the Open why can’t we do that all the time?”

Just four years ago another of Mr Scott’s predecessors as transport minister, Wendy Alexander, came up with a national transport strategy.

Next year Mr Scott will unveil another one. He is acutely aware of public cynicism of politicians producing plans.

He said, “Have no doubt, I am not going to produce strategies for the sake of producing strategies...”