Dartford Crossing Rip-off

[Bevendean Hillbilly]

I know this is not an Albion issue, but I know there are posters on here from across the country so thought I would vent in here!

The Government is considering "congestion charging" on motorways, specifically the M25, in the form of an increase from £1.00 to £1.50 for a car to go through the Dartford Tunnel or over the QE2 bridge all through the day but free passage between 11pm and 6am.

They argue that the level of traffic around the toll plaza indicates that there is a particular bottleneck there, hence the price hike.

Has no one considered the possibility that the fact there is f**cking miles of traffic jams there pretty much all the time is BECAUSE the f**king traffic is stuck going through the tolls??

The whole thing is s**te! if they removed the tolls as they promised they would once the crossings were paid for the problem would evaporate.

somehow I cant see them doing that.

It really gets my goat this sort of thing, I have been sat in the most appalling jams over there because they wont even suspend the tolls if there is a major smash on the approaches, so you end up with 2 lots of congestion, one for the accident, then another for the tolls, if there has been a big crash in the area they should lift the barriers to keep traffic flowing.

I think there should be some sort of protest if this b****cks goes through.

Bah.

 

[The Large One]

I'm just about to go to the in-laws, which means a drive through the Dartford Tunnel. There is often a bit of a traffic jam about 2 miles before the tunnel, but when you get to the tolls themselves, there's rarely a queue.

Put it this way, I have rarely spent more than 20 seconds waiting to go through the tolls.

 

[Bevendean Hillbilly]

I have spent 2 years going through the tolls every day, and agree that sometimes if for example you go through mid morning or at weekends you can be OK, but I have noticed recently that every evening there are massive queues over the Bridge, and most mornings as well.

My point is that the tolls were supposed to be for a limited time only and now they are going to be a cash cow, there is no genuine attempt to improve the traffic sitch, it is simply to generate massive revenue.

I wish I wasn't so familiar with that stretch but it is definitely getting worse and worse.

 

[bhaexpress]

I think you'll find that will lead to more congestion going through the Blackwall Tunnel as people won't pay it on principle. Also, if the M25 charges a toll more people will use A Roads and back roads to avoid the charge.

Just another soft target tax.

 

[Rougvie]

Compared to other toll bridges/tunnels i've always thought Dartford is VERY reasonable.

 

[Seagull73]

My point is that the tolls were supposed to be for a limited time only and now they are going to be a cash cow, there is no genuine attempt to improve the traffic sitch, it is simply to generate massive revenue

And it's not going to change any time soon.

The bigger problem is the volume of traffic on British Roads. It's all very well trying to copy the continental scheme of Toll Roads, but the simple fact of the matter is that there are too many cars for our roads infastructure to cope.

There is no short term solution. Look at the elongated enquiry to get a small bridge built at Bedingham. The more we move into the countryside to try and build roads, the more objection is put up. By the time the relief roads are built, they aren't enough, and new ones have to be planned.

It's a crazy situation, I confess I would be happy to pay a pound to go over the Dartford crossing, if I felt that planning would by-pass outdated laws and get roads built quicker with the money. Sadly, we know that's not the case.

 

[Bevendean Hillbilly]

Compared to other toll bridges/tunnels i've always thought Dartford is VERY reasonable.

Not really what I was saying, I agree that £1.00 is not unreasonable compared to The Humber bridge at £2.70 and the Severn Bridge at a fiver (only pay once tho) even the mersey tunnel is more expensive.

The difference is that the tolls were meant to be temporary, and now a price increase is proposed to ease the congestion CAUSED by the tolls.

Just so obviously a rip off that it p*sses me off.

 

[Cocksucker Blue]

...and you scaremongerers said the London congestion charge would be a disaster.

Up the Dartford Crossing tolls, up road tax for 4x4s, up petrol duty and lets introduce a congestion charge in Brighton

 

[Bevendean Hillbilly]

...and you scaremongerers said the London congestion charge would be a disaster.

Up the Dartford Crossing tolls, up road tax for 4x4s, up petrol duty and lets introduce a congestion charge in Brighton

 

[Dr Q]

If the queues at the tolls are the real problem, why don't they use a camera system like they use for the Congestion Charge. I guess a lot of the traffic there is daily, so they could introduce ?cheaper season tickets/weekly passes in addition?

 

[Tom Bombadil]

Good.

Anything that reduces car use is fine by me.

 

[Gwylan]

...and you scaremongerers said the London congestion charge would be a disaster.

Up the Dartford Crossing tolls, up road tax for 4x4s, up petrol duty and lets introduce a congestion charge in Brighton

A congestion charge in Brighton is inevitable; the sooner the better

 

[Faldo]

Good.

Anything that reduces car use is fine by me.

But thats missing the point.

you dont exactly sit yourself on the M25 or use the tunnel just for a laugh. The majority of road users who go through there do so out of necessity! I reckon i'm paying the salary of a few of those toll collecters single handedly!

 

[Gritt23]

As a former Dartford resident, the big cripe about it locally was that the toll was agreed to when the crossing was built, purely to reimburse the government for the expense of building it. The revenue from the crossing covered the cost years ago - 2001, I think - but there is still no sign of it ever coming to an end.

I also used to cross it going to work for about 2 years, and the queues can be horrendous. As standard, coming across the bridge you'd expect to take 10 mins at least to cross the bridge, but add in an accident and it can be carnage, or high winds closing a lane or two .... that is when they should then open the tolls, and everyone passes through quickly and free of charge.

 

[Man of Harveys]

A congestion charge in Brighton is inevitable; the sooner the better

Shouldn't they sort out the alternatives a bit first though? It's crap and the trains are packed to the rafters every summer weekend anyway but still the operating companies run the minimum service they can get away with. Then the bus company hikes the fares every five minutes, even when the price of fuel is dropping like a stone.

I'm full on in favour of congestion charging and ring-fencing the dosh for public transport as in London but all stick and no carrot would simply mean fewer visitors to Brighton full stop. At the moment, Brighton trains and buses are run by unregulated rip-off shysters, whereas the buses in London were never unregulated.

 

[Tom Bombadil]

But thats missing the point.

you dont exactly sit yourself on the M25 or use the tunnel just for a laugh. The majority of road users who go through there do so out of necessity! I reckon i'm paying the salary of a few of those toll collecters single handedly!

No it isn't. The truth is the majority of those journeys could be made another way.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

And it's not going to change any time soon.

The bigger problem is the volume of traffic on British Roads. It's all very well trying to copy the continental scheme of Toll Roads, but the simple fact of the matter is that there are too many cars for our roads infastructure to cope.

There is no short term solution. Look at the elongated enquiry to get a small bridge built at Bedingham. The more we move into the countryside to try and build roads, the more objection is put up. By the time the relief roads are built, they aren't enough, and new ones have to be planned.

It's a crazy situation, I confess I would be happy to pay a pound to go over the Dartford crossing, if I felt that planning would by-pass outdated laws and get roads built quicker with the money. Sadly, we know that's not the case.

Apropos Beddingham, the Highways Agency's consultants estimate that building the bridge over the railway will lead to a 73 per cent increase in morning peak traffic on the westbound carriageway of the A27 ... much of it simply adding to the queues to get into Lewes.

The Public Inquiry wasn't just about whether the Beddingham scheme was objectionable on environmental grounds. It was about whether the traffic and congestion outcome will actually be WORSE than the current situation.

If you work in Lewes, I can't see how things will get better.

 

[Pavilionaire]

Yeah right Voroshilov, I'll remember to cycle to Lakeside Ikea next time I do a furniture run...

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Yeah right Voroshilov, I'll remember to cycle to Lakeside Ikea next time I do a furniture run...

Believe it or not, it was possible to buy furniture before Lakeside was built.

Who exactly decided it would be a good idea if people travelled seventy miles to buy some shelving?

 

[DIN]

People that think we will EVER be in a position where car use decreases in this country should be certified.

Next time i'm called out at 3 in the morning to sign off a defect on a 767 with 300 passengers about to start a well earned holiday I will tell them I cant make the journey because i'm cutting down my car usage.