Liberal Alliance (LA) has added its voice to growing calls from the public to abolish the Storebælt Bridge toll.
Since an analysis by the Transport Ministry last week found that the state will make 379 billion kroner over the next 50 years from the bridge tolls, almost 7,000 people have liked a Facebook page called ‘Broafgift, nej tak’ (bridge toll, no thanks).
READ MORE: Storebælt Bridge a state money machine
LA included the scrapping of the toll as one of its demands in the upcoming budget negotiations, Fyens Stiftstidende reports.
Anders Samuelsen, the head of LA, believes that the proposal makes sense.
”From a socioeconomic perspective this is a sensible prioritisation that we hope our colleagues in the other parties will listen to,” he said.
”We’ve found other places in the budget to find the money, so there wouldn’t be a gap."
Cheaper crossings: public cuts?
Mai Mercado, an MP in Funen for Konservative Folkeparti, agrees in principle with the idea of getting rid of the toll, but doesn’t think that it will be scrapped straight away.
”I also hope that the bridge toll can be removed, but realistically I think it will be a gradual reduction of the tolls,” she said.
Trine Bramsen, a Social Democrat MP in Funen, is of the opinion that the tolls should be reduced, but disagrees with savings being made in the public sector.
”The tolls are really unreasonable, but I don’t have backing for it in my party," she said.
"I’m trying to convince my colleagues, but the financing should come from the growth plan we have set in motion – not from our schools and nurseries.”
