So the auction is over, the bridge has been sold for £1,080,000 and the new owner is not the county council (who were never in the bidding). This is hugely disappointing for 10,000 daily bridge users who are all losers in this tawdry tale of tax-evasion, highway robbery and time-wasting. A new private owner almost certainly means another generation of entirely unnecessary wasted time, frustration, idling engines and pollution just to line someone's pocket. A clear case of 'same shit, different bucket' or put more politely perhaps: plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose.
People who don't experience the twice-daily frustration will continue to wonder what all the fuss is about and advise bridge users to 'get a life', 'find an alterative route', 'stop whinging'. To those people I say this: when you have a little local problem that affects yours and your neighbours lives, when you want help, advice or support I will walk on by. Check out the cries for help from local people who have had enough of the time-wasting and highway robbery.
So what happens now? Some of my fellow bridge-users will continue not to pay. Some may be verbally abusive to toll collectors and some may throw eggs (please don't, it's horrid). But most will continue quietly raging, saying "thank you" to the toll collector while the queues get ever longer.
I use the bridge most days but I neither pay nor wait in the queue. I found my own answer to the toll collection problem: I got a motorcycle. I advise all bridge-users to consider this alternative. I wish I'd done it years ago. So I'll bid the toll collector 'good day' and ride on, over and out there somewhere.
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