THE NATIONAL Roads Authority (NRA) has apologised for a fault yesterday which left motorists unable to activate their accounts to use barrier-free tolling on the M50 in advance of the removal of the barriers early this morning.
After 18 years on the West-Link bridge and a long battle by campaigners seeking their removal, the barriers were finally removed just after midnight last night.
This follows the sale of the bridge by National Toll Roads to the State this year for €488 million and the construction of an electronic system for tolling traffic without the need for physical barriers.
More than 100,000 vehicles have registered for tolling by means of electronic tags or video recognition of numberplates, but motorists have to activate their accounts before they can use the new system successfully.
However, customers who rang the NRA's call centre yesterday to activate their tags or numberplates were told all agents were busy and referred to the company's eFlow website. The automated telephone system then hung up.
"They're not answering their phones and, if the line is busy, they cut you off rather than letting you hold. You get redirected to the website but you can't activate your video account there," one irate motorist told The Irish Times.
Later in the day, he added: "I've managed to get as far as being on hold - for 12 minutes so far. It would be quicker to queue and pay the toll."
An NRA spokesman acknowledged a "glitch" in the call centre's phone systems had been misleading callers into thinking all staff were busy. He said the call centre operators were trying to rectify the problem.
"Naturally, we regret any inconvenience that this is causing. The call centre will remain open throughout the weekend to deal with queries and take registrations." The spokesman said a last-minute rush prompted thousands of motorists to contact the call centre each day this week.
A variety of teething problems have been forecast.The NRA says the system may read some numberplates incorrectly, while motorists giving incorrect payment details may also cause problems.
Independent senator Shane Ross, who was prominent in the campaign to get rid of the toll plazas on the M50, claimed the introduction of barrier-free tolling was a recipe for disaster and motorists would continue to be "fleeced".
