The charge to use the Dartford River Crossing is to rise by 50 per cent. The Department for Transport has claimed this is an attempt to reduce congestion on what is one of the UK’s busiest sections of toll roads.
Users of the northbound tunnels and southbound bridge crossing the River Thames will now have to pay £1.50 for a car, an additional 50 pence. The changes will come into force from 10pm on Saturday 15 November.
Rising costs of operating the river crossing are thought to be a reason behind the increase, but Le Crossing, the company responsible for collecting the toll charge, claimed the decision was made by the Department for Transport (DfT) and The Highways Agency.
According to the DfT, the increase is a result of the continuing demand placed on the busy link joining the two ends of the orbital M25 motorway.
“The prospect of demand rising has led to a cash price increase on the Crossing,” said Paul Malley, spokesman for the Department of Transport. “It will give people an incentive to pay without cash, which will help traffic flow more smoothly.”
The original £1 fare will still be available to users of the Dart-Tag electronic payment system, while local residents will pay just 20 pence per crossing. Off-peak travel between 10pm and 6am will now be free.
Charges for the Crossing were originally scheduled to end in 2003, once the cost of building the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge had been repaid.
Charging continued, however, as a way of managing the predicted 17 per cent increase in congestion. More than 150,000 vehicles use the crossing every day.
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Re: Dartford toll rises 50p
The baskets do work with other coins, upto the value of £1 (or £1.50 now), as it is based on a range of weights (so I am led to believe) rather than the expectation of a particular coin.
A few years back, when the DETR did the "consultation" on the removal of the tolls, as promised when the bridge was announced following it being paid for, they claimed that if the tolls were removed then traffic levels would have increased by 10% by 2010 (I don't remember the exact numbers, but something in that order).
I wrote to the consultation team asking by what levels they expected traffic to increase by 2010 with the tolls retained. Over a six week period, e-mailing at least once a week, involving my MP, the MPs for Thurrock and Dartford, the Roads Minister and the Secretary of State I never got a straightforward reply that got even close to answering the question. I don't know why they were so shy..as it happens over recent years the traffic levels have remained steady at around 145,000 crossings per day...but then, so has rush hour congestion which only seems to be on the approach to the tolls.
Revenue 2006-07 was £69million. Around £5million per annum spent on the crossing and £1.75m per annum was directed towards local transport initiatives, now removed.
Re: Dartford toll rises 50p
Good point Kee - as a regular crosser, I've always made sure I have a couple of pound coins to hand. If the baskets don't work with the new charge, that is going to be a major pain in the bottom.
Re: Dartford toll rises 50p
Don't give them ideas! They will put it up to £2, with the spin that it is down to technical issues.
Now, on the other side of this argument, the local resident 20p tolls are a good idea. Not that I am biased, living in the catchment area for them.
The down side with these though, is that you are only allowed one per person and they have to be registered to a particular car. This means I will have to retain one £1.00 Dart Tag for my other cars.