île de Ré could introduce an eco-tax for bridge in 2012

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Twenty four years ago, the general council of Charente Maritime invested 600 million euros in building a bridge to link the île de Ré with the mainland.  On 1 January 2012 this cost will have been paid off by virtue of the tolls that have been levied on traffic entering the island.  This leaves politicians with a dilemma, either open up the island for free, or introduce a new 'green tax' to help pay for work needed to safeguard the fragile environment.

Residents have long dreaded the potential opening up of the island to more traffic, which would further increase the three million vehicles that already enter the island each year.  An average of 8,000 vehicles currently enter the island per day, rising to 16,000 in peak holiday season.  A recent study showed that opening up the island for free could augment traffic by between 20% and 25%

There are currently legal limits on the level at which an eco-tax could be set, but a vote this week in the National Assembly has effectively given the general council the go-ahead to set a green-tax for the île de Ré, and opens up the possibility of a new toll for the île d'Oleron which is currently free. 

Dominique Bussereau, the transport secretary and president of the Charente Maritime general council had proposed the amendment in the National Assembly, and was this week joined by Lionel Quillet, president of the communes of the île de Ré, in celebrating its acceptance.

Any revenues raised by the introduction of an eco-tax would be used to fund environmental projects, and environmentally friendly transport solutions for the island.  The general council has stated that the cost of crossing to the island will not change dramatically from the current tolls.

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