IN his letter to the Sunday Morning Post of September 17, Mr H.B. Inman points out that the Tate's Cairn Tunnel has installed an autotoll system different from the system operating on the Cross-Harbour Tunnel and other tunnels.
Not only is this an illogical decision, it also leads to the absurd situation that the Tate's Cairn Tunnel Co has to station a man by its autotoll to identify whether cars going through the autotoll have the correct autotoll tag. If cars do not have the correct tag they are waved to a screeching halt inches from the hapless man, and asked (politely) to reverse and go through a normal pay lane. The cost of this man must surely be as much - if not more - than a normal tollbooth operator; thus negating the whole economic benefit, of the autotoll system.
Even more absurd is the fact that some of the other tunnels have now been forced to station men on their autotoll gates to check whether a Tate's Cairn autotoll tag bearer is erroneously driving through thinking that his tag is valid. So all the tunnels will presumably soon be paying the same for tollbooth staff as before. I strongly recommend that the Transport Advisory Committee looks into this situation and institutes one autotoll system for the whole territory before the situation gets completely out of hand and car windscreens become obscured with autotoll tags of different types. Perhaps, the Tate's Cairn Tunnel Co, as penance for causing such disruption, should let all traffic go through toll free for a month.
I would be interested to hear an official reply from the Tate's Cairn Tunnel Co to my letter and Mr Inman's letter, if it dares.
P. D. BENTLEY Mid-Levels
