Island companies and services not concerned with Confederation Bridge's plastic-only proposal

By Daniel Brown

Sept. 27, 2018

Some Island companies and services aren’t concerned if the Confederation Bridge stops night-time cash transactions.

Strait Crossing Development Inc., the company operating the bridge, has proposed stopping cash transactions from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m between October and May each year.

Brian Oulton is executive director of the P.E.I. Trucking Sector Council. This proposal will affect Island truckers very minimally, he said.

Most truckers have a transmitter in their vehicle allowing them to use a dedicated toll lane without stopping. This transmitter, StraitPass, works at other tolls across the Maritimes, Oulton said.

“They’re just driving right through.”

The only truckers who might have to stop at the bridge are from outside the Maritimes. But they likely wouldn’t be travelling without credit or debit, he said.

“It’s pretty rare.”

Kevin Mouflier is CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of P.E.I. It is important to offer cash transactions during summer months, he said.

Seniors would be most affected by this proposal.

“It would definitely be an inconvenience,” he said.

However, more and more tourists are using credit and debit cards, and most travel during the daytime, he said.

Greg MacAdam is a paramedic with Island EMS. Island ambulances also use the StraitPass transmitter, he said.

“You don’t have to stop and pay cash or credit.”

In emergency situations, sometimes ambulances are allowed to bypass the bridge gate entirely, he said.

This proposal may affect people leaving P.E.I. before 6 a.m. to be early for a medical appointment. It may also affect people making day trips to visit family members in off-island hospitals, MacAdam said.