Dartford Crossing Cashless From November 30th

[Hastings gull]

The price certainly shouldn't have gone - ANPR is cheap as chips compared to employing real people.

I assume you mean - shouldn't have gone UP -not trying to be clever clogs, by the way! If ANPR is as cheap as you say, and I really don't know, then why have they put the price up, considering it must be making millions anyway. Obviously the cost of transferring the system must be taken into account, then the usual greed, and I thought that it might also be the potential cost of taking to court those who try it on. ANPR would obviously catch the dodgers out, but it will be interesting to see to what extent people will try and flout payment. Does anyone know what percentage dodge the London congestion charge - I imagine that the more that do it, the greater chance that they could get away with it, as the trouble of contacting those people could be quite prohibitive if the system is over-run. As an aside, I read somewhere that the Police ANPR cameras have only a 96% accuracy rate on number plates, as they can be confused by the screw being in the wrong place plus confusion as to what is a nought and what is a letter "o".
But I will happily defer to those on here who know more about this than I do.

 

[stripeyshark]

It should be FREE!

 

[yxee]

Thanks for reminder/link. Just signed up for pre payment with auto top up. A simple process, registered both our cars, and £1.67 instead of £2.50 per trip. Best of all, no need to worry about forgetting to pay. Wont suit everyone, but if you are a fairly regular user got to be a good option.

How was it £1.67? I saw no mention of price when I signed up just now

 

[El Sid]

I read somewhere that the Police ANPR cameras have only a 96% accuracy rate on number plates, as they can be confused by the screw being in the wrong place plus confusion as to what is a nought and what is a letter "o".

I recently got a speeding ticket on the A24 at a time when I was safely tucked up in bed. When I challenged the ticket they admitted the camera wrongly read my number plate. They cancelled the ticket.

 

[wellquickwoody]

Thanks for reminder/link. Just signed up for pre payment with auto top up. A simple process, registered both our cars, and £1.67 instead of £2.50 per trip. Best of all, no need to worry about forgetting to pay. Wont suit everyone, but if you are a fairly regular user got to be a good option.

You could get a job doing this with your track record this month, Martyn Lewis better be watching his back!

 

[Brian Potter]

What I find ridiculous is that there is no signage about this anywhere in or around the existing toll booths. I use the tunnel 2-3 time a week and I have seen nothing telling people about this.

 

[Creaky]

The stated purpose of the Congestion charge in Central London was to reduce traffic by a combination of cost and the incovenience of making payment, especially for the casual visitor.

On that basis how much extra traffic can we expect to see on the Western side of the M25? I only travel through the tunnel on an infrequent basis - normally when needing to use the A1M at short notice. There is little difference in mileage for me between the Eastern and Western routes - needing to go through the additional hassle of paying on-line or over the phone will probably mean I'll go West - this sort of decision must be made by thousands every day joining the M25 from the South.

 

[chimneys]

How was it £1.67? I saw no mention of price when I signed up just now

This was in the fee section:

Cars (including trailers), motorhomes, vans and buses with less than 9 seats Single Payment £2.50 Standard account £1.67

I think the pre payment account is the standard one they refer to, albeit not certain.

 

[Lush]

I imagine there'll be loads of crashes as people see the signs and start trying to pay in advance WHILE THEY'RE DRIVING.

 

[pb21]

The stated purpose of the Congestion charge in Central London was to reduce traffic by a combination of cost and the incovenience of making payment, especially for the casual visitor.

On that basis how much extra traffic can we expect to see on the Western side of the M25? I only travel through the tunnel on an infrequent basis - normally when needing to use the A1M at short notice. There is little difference in mileage for me between the Eastern and Western routes - needing to go through the additional hassle of paying on-line or over the phone will probably mean I'll go West - this sort of decision must be made by thousands every day joining the M25 from the South.

Would have thought that the reduction of queues will give people the incentive to go east, rather than west, certainly me!

 

[Mo Gosfield]

Would have thought that the reduction of queues will give people the incentive to go east, rather than west, certainly me!

No it won't....spoke to an independent traffic expert yesterday and he and fellow experts are predicting a rise in M25 traffic travelling west of between 22-28%.
Bearing in mind that some of the ' western ' sections ( around Heathrow/M4/M40 ) are the busiest in Europe, I suggest we are in for some fun and games. Beware any snarl ups. You ain't seen nothing yet.

 

[n1 gull]

Sounds like a sensible idea to me, surprised it didn't happen ages ago.
I just hope Heathrow doesn't get that runway as that will be a nightmare Westbound

 

[Mo Gosfield]

It should be FREE!

Agree...it should be and it was going to be, after initial construction costs were paid for, but certain powers to be decided that the revenue was too great to turn away. Now its risen, in stages from £1 ( for cars ) to £2.50 and that, despite making hundreds of people redundant and saving a fortune.

 

[surrey jim]

Wonderful, a number of people lose their jobs which we'll now have to pay benefits to, and the price goes up as well, even though it only went up a couple of years ago. Lucky we own it so the money will go into the tax take...........oh no, hold on, we sold it off

People at the booths will loose jobs, however some will be created in payment processing via phone, letter and website maintenance

 

[Mo Gosfield]

1) Annual revenue from the crossing, year ending 31/03/13....£80,331,662.
2) Average usage...130,000 vehicles per day.
3) Average annual usage ( approx )....47,000,000
4) Average revenue from each vehicle...approx £1.70.

 

[Daddies_Sauce]

I've driven in Spain and France on their toll roads and always been able to pay in cash

Or credit card, insert your card in the reader, system reads the chip and pushes the card back out again, no need for your pin.

 

[Notters]

I've driven in Spain and France on their toll roads and always been able to pay in cash

You can't in Portugal, it's all ANPR

 

[desprateseagull]

Prices go UP, though no cash handling costs..?

 

[8ace]

It should be FREE!

Yeah, what do we pay our road taxes for otherwise

 

[pb21]

No it won't....spoke to an independent traffic expert yesterday and he and fellow experts are predicting a rise in M25 traffic travelling west of between 22-28%.
Bearing in mind that some of the ' western ' sections ( around Heathrow/M4/M40 ) are the busiest in Europe, I suggest we are in for some fun and games. Beware any snarl ups. You ain't seen nothing yet.

Hmm surprising, with all due respect to these traffic experts I wonder how they are arriving at those estimates, it's not as if there is any precedence for this before on the m25. As you say the western section is always ridiculous, why anyone would choose to go that way, rather than East and logon afterwards to pay and save time, everything else being equal is beyond me. It's not as if the Internet is new these days, and it can be automated too!