Dartford Crossing Toll Increases

pugmanic

Hello peeps,

I travel from Kent in to Essex every day for work, and consequently use the Dartford crossing. Having heard a rumour about toll increases I e-mailed the Customer Services department and recieved the following response:

Nick…

Proposed Increase in Charges - Autumn 2008


The Department for Transport (DfT) has not yet announced an implementation date for the new revised charges but it will be announced in the press and on the Department for Transport (DfT) www.dft.gov.uk and Highways Agency (HA) www.highways.gov.uk websites.

Additionally there will be information available and leaflets will be issued at the booths outlining the proposals prior to the revised charges being levied.

The new charges will allow for all car drivers who purchase a Dart-tag to use the Crossing for £1.00 - a discount of 33⅓% regardless of where they live.

If you don't already have one you can get details by contacting:

DART- Tag Telephone Helpline 01322 280200
DART- Tag Online: [URL="blocked::http://www.dart-tag.co.uk"]www.[/URL]dart-tag.co.uk
DART -Tag Fax: 01322 294256
DART- Tag E-mail: [URL="blocked::mailto:admin@dart-tag.co.uk"]admin@dart-tag.co.uk[/URL]

These proposals do acknowledge the potential impact on frequent users of the Crossing and this is why the charges for those who choose to use the DART-Tag service will be significantly discounted.

For cars the DART-Tag rate charged will only be £1.00 - the current
cash rate and an increase of 7 pence on the current discounted DART-Tag rate - instead of the proposed £1.50. Charges would be removed completely between the hours of 22.00 and 06.00hrs and towing a trailer would no longer incur an increased charge.

There is a need to ease congestion at the booths and it for this reason
that the DART- Tag facility is being promoted with sizeable discounts
to encourage customers to enrol.
The new charges will not be effected before the Autumn.

I trust that this information is of use.
Dave McIntyre
Customer Services Manager

Telephone: 01322 221603 Extension 157
E-mail [EMAIL="davemcintyre@lecrossing.co.uk"]davemcintyre@lecrossing.co.uk[/EMAIL]




Although it means a 7% increase in Toll charges for me, it is not nearly as bad as I had first feared.

Silly_Cow

Thanks for that, pugmanic.

So the normal cash cost is going up to £1.50 between 6am & 10pm?

What a bargain - considering the original purpose of the tolls was to pay for the building costs of the bridge which is now paid for.

I guess I'll be making more use of the Gravesend-Tilbury passenger ferry wherever possible instead.

eslick

We live near the tyne tunnel and they are building a new one, its going to cost a fortune by 2010 when the new one is complete and we just had and increase on Jan 1st from £1.10 to £1.20 for cars and light vans only.

The local councillors are starting to realise that people cant afford to use it. For me using the tunnel is the quickest way to work, about 6 miles against around 15 miles as the other option, however with the cost of the toll and it is actually cheaper to drive the 15 miles.

Anyway rant over in Scotland from a couple of weeks ago tolls were
abolished by the Scottish Parliament. Local pressure groups in Tyneside are calling for the same to happen here. It is actually getting some weight behind the campaign and it might be worth trying this in other parts of the country.

They have started one of those pettitions, nothing really happens from these but anything helps.

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/tynetunneltoll/

pugmanic

Nice idea but it won't happen. The crossing is very heavily used by freight as well as cars. It is the easiest way for trucks from the continent to head up North from Dover.

There were over 53 Million crossings between 06 and 07. I think that will have gone up since. On a conservative estimate that is well over 120 mill in tolls at the current charges.

Sagaris

I thought I saw somewhere that residents in Essex and Kent were going to be exempt from the tolls? Perhaps I was dreaming!

Silly_Cow

That's not the case unfortunately, sagaris, but you probably weren't dreaming either. We got teased with all sorts of proposals which haven't become reality. There has been recent talk about residents in the boroughs of Thurrock and Dartford (where the bridge starts and finishes) receiving a 90% discount.

Just searched and found this...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7232763.stm

Katgoddess

Sagaris wrote: »

I thought I saw somewhere that residents in Essex and Kent were going to be exempt from the tolls? Perhaps I was dreaming!

They are going to get so many free crossings a year (50?) and any more they get a discount. I live in Bexley and the leader of the council and up in arms about it because we won't get any discount.

http://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/newsbexley/display.var.2059150.0.crossing_discount_denied.php

Most people in Bexley only use the bridge to go to Ikea. :rotfl:

pugmanic

Thats still a lot of meat balls

Bob63

No charge for motorcycles. Get on two wheels, you know it makes sense!

waterworld17

i have been going through the dartford bridge/tunnel some days and i have been paying £1.80 no matterer what time of day it is, i drive an astra van and am paying the price of the larger vans, i think its a cheak they charge that when im the same as a estate car, i told the guy behind the window its a rip of he said oh well, the have not changed there prices on there boards or anything is this right? The way i see it is you only have too pay what the boards say and not what the guy behind the window says, its illegal what they doing is it not???:mad:

vaio

Sagaris wrote: »

I thought I saw somewhere that residents in Essex and Kent were going to be exempt from the tolls? Perhaps I was dreaming!

Yep, and welsh people are exempt from the severn bridge charges