A Tyne Tunnel campaigner insists further action is needed after bosses cancelled more than 11,000 fines handed out to drivers in just two months.
Local activist Gary Spedding set-up a petition on the turn of the year, demanding change for the 'distress and financial hardship caused by the penalty fines being issued by TT2 Limited' following the introduction of a new cashless system.
More than 140,000 financial penalties have been issued since implementing the changes, with furious drivers launching a petition against the overhaul of the payment system.
His petition has received in excess of 12,000 signatures so far, and due to building pressure being put on tunnel bosses by campaigners and local Members of Parliament, TT2 Limited has announced progress in their efforts working towards addressing concerns.
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TT2 Limited is currently in the process of reviewing every single appeal made to them regarding Unpaid Toll Charge Notices (UTCNs) for non-compliance, and if they find any discrepancies or faults of their own within the process leading up to the resulting fines, they are cancelling them completely.
A reported number of 66,181 fines were handed out last month to non-compliant tunnel users - down from 73,846 in November, of which 11,152 appeals have subsequently been upheld.
Mr Spedding welcomed the cancelling of fines, but insisted further action needs to take place.
He told ChronicleLive: "We welcome the announcement that approximately 11,000 toll non-payment charges have been rescinded.
"It is important that a thorough independent review is carried out so that those unjustly issued with penalty charges are refunded if they have already paid their UTCN.
"The cancellation of these charges reveals that our campaign is justified and necessary."
He added: "The announcement of the hardship fund is also welcome, though we ask that the criteria for this is published and the process is transparent so that the most vulnerable aren't left out in the cold.
"There remains significant concerns for us as campaigners in terms of the continuing issues around the functionality of both the app and the TT2 website - where many Tunnel users are still reporting issues to us.
"This must be addressed at the earliest opportunity and those caught out as a result of technical failures on the part of TT2 should not be penalised.
"Fundamentally, our call for greater transparency and independent oversight remains relevant.
"We are also determined that TT2 Limited should increase the amount of time given to Tunnel users to pay their toll charges. This would help mitigate any service issues with the website or downtime for the app.
"We further call for TT2 Limited to commit to review and amend the amount of money people are charged for an unpaid toll.
"The current level of £60.00 is unacceptable and doesn't fall in line with other similar toll roads around the United Kingdom, particularly those in Merseyside and Humber.
"It is unethical to use ordinary hardworking honest people as a cash cow."
The current charge for non-compliance at the Tyne Tunnel is £60 plus the initial toll fee - with the cost being halved it those issued comply within 14 days of notification.
However, the fine leaps to £100 plus toll fees if recipients fail to comply within 28 days, which has led to anger in the widespread community.
A fund has also been set-up to help pay the fines of cash-strapped motorists, who may otherwise find themselves in 'financial hardship' if forced to pay the required UTCNs.
MP for South Shields, Emma Lewell-Buck has also suggested extending payment periods and lowering standard charges for UTCNs, which she hopes to see implemented in the near future, although no terms have yet been agreed as of yet.
Gary continued: "Hundreds of people are coming forward every week relaying their stories of extreme distress and anxiety over unpaid toll charges. The impact both financially and upon the mental health of those affected is paramount and should be addressed.
"We once again call for TT2 Limited to engage with the demands of the Tyne Tunnel Campaign and the petition that now has over 11,600 signatures.
"We also hope that local political representatives will continue to raise these issues and push for the solutions being called for by so many of us which will ensure that the Tyne Tunnel becomes an ethical and trustworthy link across the River Tyne for everyone to use without fear.
"We would like to thank everyone for their continued support."
With regards to the appeals process, a spokesman for TT2 Limited, said: “TT2 conducts appeals to a set of rules which are overseen by Transport North East.
"To ensure we comply with those rules an independent auditing company, reporting to Transport North East, checks a representative sample of appeals every two months.
“To date, the auditors have reported that 100% of appeals were conducted correctly, in accordance with the rules .
“In addition to this, we have voluntarily signed-up to be scrutinised by the statutory, independent transport watchdog – Transport Focus.
“Transport Focus publish independent performance reports and conduct an independent survey of 50,000 customers each year to produce a performance review and our score is then bench-marked against others.”
