Public transport should be exempt from charges on toll bridges, including the Forth, Erskine and Tay bridges, with a discount scheme and priority lanes for multioccupancy vehicles, according to the Scottish Council for Development and Industry. It said the pounds -18.8m generated by toll charges could easily be found in the Executive budget.

However, the executive has said that the implications of such a move were complicated, and that the Skye bridge tolls were scrapped only after it was shown there would be no adverse traffic or environmental effects.