New card machines installed on the Tamar Bridge look set to reduce congestion by speeding up the time it takes to process contactless card payments.

Average transaction times have been reduced from 17 to 6.5 seconds thanks to new card readers in the toll booths. The fastest payments have been made in just two seconds.

Joint chairs of the Tamar Crossings, Cornwall councillor Martin Worth and Jon Dingle from Plymouth City Council, said: “This is very good news for everyone crossing the Tamar Bridge.

“Not only does it make the transaction quicker for those people who are paying by card but, by reducing the time they spend at the toll booth, it also speeds up journey times for everyone else as well.”

Over the last 12 months, Tamar Crossings has worked with their card payment processing providers to optimise ‘back office’ transaction times.

The system has now gone live in all six toll booths following a successful trial carried out in one booth.

General manager David List said it had been “a challenging project” but well worth it: “With over 5,000 card transactions a day, these time savings add up and are very significant.  The faster card readers have already reduced congestion at the toll booths and we are now seeing reduced journey times. We hope that these increased payment speeds will also contribute towards reduced congestion in Saltash, and help with traffic flow during the upcoming National Highways tunnel upgrade project.”

The tunnel works in Saltash are due to start late November, and last up to 12 months.