BBC.
Yep, it might not be rocket science, but prising £40 million quid from the hands of politicians/ministries is never going to be easy. To them, it's all about the money, not the problems caused, after all the crossing was paid off years ago and the government reneged on the promise to scrap the tolls once it was paid. So somehow or other I cannot see Selep's call to have them scrapped falling on fertile ground.Tolls on the Dartford Crossing should be scrapped to help boost the local economy, a group representing public bodies and businesses has said.The South East Local Enterprise Partnership (Selep) said charges "can have devastating effects on business."The Department for Transport (DfT) wants to increase car tolls from £1.50 to £2 in November and £2.50 in 2012.The crossing comprises a dual tunnel northbound and bridge southbound, linking Essex and Kent.The local enterprise partnerships were set up to stimulate economic growth, replacing the publicly-funded regional development agencies.George Kieffer, who chairs Selep, said: "It is not rocket science to see the toll booths act as a major traffic bottleneck which can have a huge knock on effect for the surrounding road network.
Still it's nice to know that my opinions and others are being echoed by others with more clout than I have, though sadly I fear with the same result of being ignored by those who prefer a revenue stream to free flowing traffic.
6 annotations:
Well of course the tolls were supposed to have ceased when the crossing was paid for ,this happened some time ago ,but of course we were taking a politicians word on this and instead of scrapping the toll they want to increase it,we should in cases like this be able to sue under the trade descriptions act.
Just in the interests of inflaming the debate I would remind everyone that all bridge tolls in Scotland were abolished in 2009.
Damn You mean I should have stayed in Tayside? The sodding tay bridge toll has gone forever? Even the forth road bridge toll? Christ Now I wish I had stayed in Dundee
Dartford toll crossing on the M25 which has to be the biggest bottleneck on a main transport route ever devised
Blackwall Tunnel?
They keep shutting the sodding blackwall tunnel and thats a 14 mile detour
The same occurs with the Severn Bridge at peak times, but to a much lesser extent. I've never wasted forty minutes going nowhere fast on that crossing like I have at Dartford.
So, while I have no beef with the principle of tolls generally, this particular one is observably counter productive.
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