GOVERNMENT RESPONSE TO 10,000 DARTFORD TOLL PETITION SLAMMED AS ‘FEEBLE'

The government response to the 10,000 strong petition to abolish the Dartford Crossing Toll charges has been described as ‘feeble' by the author of the petition, Cllr Clarence Barrett.

The petition closed on 1 st January 2009, but it has taken the government nearly three months to come back with a response (see below for petition and response).

Cllr Barrett said: “This petition has gained huge support and it is surprising that the government took three months to come up with such an unconvincing, unpersuasive and feeble response.

“The contention that the lifting of the charge would generate a 17 per cent increase in traffic beggars belief. This would equate to an addition 25,000 vehicles per day and the obvious question is where are all these vehicles going at the moment? Motorists use the Dartford Crossing because there is no viable alternative, not because there is a choice. To suggest that a further 25,000 would suddenly descend on the crossing if charges were lifted is preposterous.

“The discount scheme made available to the residents of Thurrock and Dartford is flawed because there are thousands of residents from Havering who live much nearer the crossing than many in Thurrock and Dartford, but are not eligible for the discount.

“To suggest that pollution would increase if the charges were lifted appears to ignore the fact that every day thousands of vehicles are emitting tonnes of exhaust fumes waiting to pay an unnecessary ‘congestion' charge. It is entirely clear to me, and thousands of others, that much of the congestion at the crossing is caused by the toll booths themselves.

“It would have been more convincing if the government said ‘this is a tax raising scheme giving us some £50 million a year and we are not giving it up', rather than fobbing us off with feeble excuses.

“If the government are so keen to hang on to the £50 million, they could think about reducing the £1.3 billion spent on consultants each year or the £6 billion being spent on an unwanted national ID card scheme.

“The campaign to abolish the charges will continue and I am hopeful it will feature in the run up to the next General Election”.

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Petition:

“We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to abolish the Dartford Crossing Toll charges.”

“Despite calls to scrap the Dartford Crossing Toll and allow vehicles to move freely across the river, the Government now propose to increase the standard charge from £1.00 to £1.50 later this year. The charge was introduced in 1963 and was designed to pay for the construction costs of the tunnels and latterly the bridge. These costs were finally paid off in 2002 and the legal authority to charge a toll expired in April 2003. However, the Government decided to continue the toll under the guise of a congestion charge. This petition calls for the toll to be scrapped, as soon as is practicable, on the following grounds:

a) The congestion, which can stretch for many miles on either side of the crossing, is largely due to the effect of the tollbooths themselves

b) The exhaust fumes generated by thousands of cars waiting in line causes unnecessary environmental damage

c) The delays add unnecessary expense to business and transport costs.”

Government's response

Thank you for your e-petition.

The Dartford-Thurrock River Crossing is a vital transport link for both the national and South East economies which has brought huge economic benefits and opportunities. However, more vehicles want to use the Crossing than it can accommodate, and studies indicate that without any charge traffic levels would be 17% higher leading to even more extensive congestion.  

That is why, using powers agreed by Parliament and following a full consultation, a charge replaced the existing toll in 2003.  

With continuing traffic pressures and the prospect of demand rising in the longer term The Department for Transport consulted on a change to charges in December 2006 including the removal of overnight charges, and a new charging structure that offered greater discounts for those who pay be electronic DART-Tag.  The consultation also sought views about the possibility of creating a local resident discount scheme.  .  In April 2007, the Department for Transport responded to the consultation, announcing that it would develop a local discount scheme. A further consultation in February 2008 sought comments on the local discount scheme. The new charging structure and the local discount scheme came into operation on 15 November 2008.

To deal with each of the three specific points made in the e-petition in turn:

· To say congestion is largely due to the effect of the toll booths is incorrect.  For much of the day the Crossing is operating at or above its capacity.  The tunnels could not handle any more traffic than the toll plaza can process.  Under the new charging structure there are no charges at night when traffic is lighter - and there are incentives to encourage people to pay without cash.  With more people using the Dart Tag, traffic flow through the charging booths will be smoother, helping to reduce unnecessary delays at the barriers.  But barriers will always be necessary to manage traffic flows.

· Traffic modeling has also suggested that lifting the charges would dramatically and seriously worsen pollution on the Crossing.   Air Quality Management Areas have been established adjacent to the A282 approaches to the Crossing.  These require action to meet mandatory EU limits by 2010. The Highways Agency also monitors air quality annually.   

· Anyone - regardless of where they live - can continue to pay the old rate of £1.00 by using an electronic Dart-Tag.  Lorries and vans using the Dart-Tag will also benefit from significant reductions.  During the 2006 consultation, local people made a strong case for a local discount scheme and we listened.  Residents of Dartford and Thurrock are entitled to a tag which gives them 50 free crossings per year on payment of a £10 annual administration fee. Thereafter crossings will cost 20p each.

In the longer term we expect demand for use of the Crossing to grow, and we have commissioned a study to look at addressing this growth, including the possibility of a new crossing in the area.

Revenue from the Crossing comes to the Department for Transport and is spent on maintenance/operations costs of the crossing and transport investment both in the local area and nationally. 

28.3.09