[Tagging] paid ferry - fee or toll tag

[Colin Smale]

On 2019-06-19 13:49, Joseph Eisenberg wrote:

> I asked my wife (native American English speaker) how she would
> describe a ferry that wasn't free. She thought of paying a fare first,
> for foot ferries, but when pressed suggested that "Toll ferry" was
> better than something with "fee"
> 
> Searching online, I'm finding results for both "toll ferry" and "fee
> ferry" from official ferry website, so it seems both terms are used in
> parts of the Egnlish-speaking world.

Based on my knowledge of the UK I would suggest that a legal footing is
required to levy a toll. The bridges, tunnels and roads where a toll is
called a toll are the subject of an Act of Parliament (which may be
hundreds of years old). These routes are public highways, which means
you can't stop people using them - hence the need for a special licence.
(Actually motorways are technically not public highways, but that's a
different issue.) 

That doesn't preclude private parties for charging for the use of
private infrastructure, but that is just a "fee" or a "charge" or a
"price" (but not a "toll").
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