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Quesues at the Dartford crossing are costing the economy £40 million a year, ministers admitted today.
The Department for Transport, which estimated the figure for 2007, said the congestion was caused by the volume of traffic, not the tolls on vehicles.
Colin Stanbridge, chief executive of the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said: "There are simply not enough river crossings in their area and so we need the Mayor to look again at building the Thames Gateway Bridge." Congestion is expected to get worse as east London's population grows.
Reader views (8)
There are options out already for a new crossing, which is what the toll should be used to finance. It's quite simple:
- Build another crossing (preferably the new M2 to M25 route east of Tilbury);
- Set aside land for a local link Dartford crossing to be built eventually;
- Keep the toll and introduce on the new crossing to pay down the debt for it;
- Follow the lead of Oslo, Melbourne and other dynamic cities and make the toll fully electronic free flow so that the queues disappear. Foreign vehicles can be randomly stopped by traffic enforcement units and be detained until they pay the toll and a fine. That can also be a useful way of picking up the unsafe ones. Will need a big effort at first, but given freeflow tolls are the norm on many European motorways it isn't hard to do.
The problem is the toll is collected the old fashioned way, and even DartTag is old fashioned. Let people set up accounts based on their number plates and pay automatically, higher at peak times. Most importantly, use it to pay to maintain the current crossings, and to help expand the network.
A Thames Gateway bridge connecting the A406 to the A20 could be built and financed the same way if it weren't for chronic NIMBYism.
- Libertyscott, London, 08/12/2009 16:17
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why does Gordon Brown think he has yhe right to sell the crossing when it is not his to sell.That crossing was paid for by the motoring public & was ment to have the tolls removed three years ago.I use this crossing on a regular basis & the wait to cross is getting longer & longer and it is all down to the collection of the tolls now that we have so many forigne trucks on our roads there is no place for left hand drive trucks to pay?
- Hugh Stilwell, croydon surrey, 23/11/2009 15:38
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Sorry drivers but i think i have contributed to the £40 million cost of delays at the DARTFORD TUNNEL. You see since the increase of toll to £1.50 i use a bag of 10p pieces to pay my toll evey day. Now if every driver did the same for a week or so they would be weighed down with so much change there may be a chance they could scrap the charge.
- Mr S.Port, London, 21/10/2009 23:33
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How about a simple experiment. Stop the tolls for a week, and see if the traffic jams get better, worse or stay the same? Until then, no-one knows.
Some time ago Southwark bridge was closed for repairs, everyone expected traffic chaos, but in fact traffic flows in the area and over adjacent bridges improved when it closed! Unfortunately, they then re-opened Southwark Bridge.
- Nigel, London, 21/10/2009 17:08
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Funny how it's the volume of traffic not the tolls causing the congestion. Every time I drive over it the traffic is moving freely until you get near the tolls and is then gridlock. After the tolls traffic is fine again.
Why aren't these blatant lies picked up on?
- Craig, London, 21/10/2009 12:43
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When the government carried out the "consutltation" on retaining the tolls at Dartford they came out with a figure of increase in traffic if the tolls were scrapped (something like 10% by 2010).
I wrote, as part of the consultation, to the DOT to find out what the expected rate of increase would be by 2010 if the tolls were retained.
Could not get a striaght answer at all.
It was a lie, the congestion argument. If the tolls do not cause the congestion, why does it ease following the tolls (baring any separate problems)?
Of course, this particular government thinks you are a sap that'll take anything if you bend over far enough, and since not enough people bothered to be engaged, the retention of the tolls was just railroaded through.
- Escobar A-Lop-Lop, Camden County, 21/10/2009 11:02
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Doing away with the tolls will ease the congestion and that will save at least £40m a year and probably more. Simple.
- Graham Rodhouse, Helmond, Netherlands, 21/10/2009 10:27
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"The Department for Transport, which estimated the figure for 2007, said the congestion was caused by the volume of traffic, not the tolls on vehicles."
I gaurantee you they cannot say that now, ever since the tolls have been increased to £1.50 for cars the congestion has got far worse. Therefore the tolls are causing the delays to journeys. The original charter for the toll bridge was to recoup the costs of building then remove the tolls.
Why don't this government stick to the original intent - o yea coz the country is goign to hell in a handcart and they need to raise revenue anyway they can!!!!
- Paul, Londinium, 21/10/2009 08:49
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