Drivers veer away from Port Mann tolls but province says detours temporary

VANCOUVER – Traffic has dropped substantially on the Port Mann bridge since tolls were introduced.

But British Columbia Transportation Minister Todd Stone says the effect is temporary and drivers are expected to return once all construction on the Highway 1 corridor into Vancouver is completed.

Stone admits that after the first year, revenue forecasts are being adjusted to 20 per cent lower than first anticipated but he says the province is still on track to pay off the cost of the new, eight-lane bridge ahead of schedule.

Stone also says there has been no mass diversion of drivers but, rather, that more people are taking public transit or working from home.

The toll doubled to $3 per crossing last month and critics such as the Canadian Taxpayers Federation say drivers are finding other routes to get to work.

Officials in New Westminster have complained that the neighbouring Pattullo bridge is bearing the brunt of a commuter exodus, but Stone says other bridges have not seen dramatic increases in traffic.