I've read that the Government choose to continue the toll for the Dartford crossing (even though the crossing was paid for in 2003, so the toll should be lifted).
Their reason is on the grounds of safety, in that removing the toll will increase traffic locally above the route's capacity.
Do you believe that would happen? I mean, where are all the people who are currently not using the crossing because of the toll going?
Whether the toll's there or not I'd still use the crossing but it does seem like another way of raising revenue.
Chris
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it does seem like another way of raising revenue.
Got it in one!
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It's no longer a TOLL-it was pledged that the TOLL would be removed when the bridge was paid for-it is now a "CHARGE".
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jc2, I do hope your being sarcastic, from the Highways Agency website, it is actually a TOLL CHARGE.
Chris
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Can the toll be removed? - yes, of course it can.
Will the toll be removed? - never.
On the grounds of safety is just a lame excuse, I'm surprised they didn't put a massive increase on the toll on the grounds it stops terrorists, a much better and currently popular excuse for all sorts of things. Just think of the danger if we allow terrorists to freely pass over/under the Thames!
If they are concerned about the traffic levels being too high then couldn't they just install some traffic lights to limit the traffic?
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>>If they are concerned about the traffic levels being too high then couldn't they just install some traffic lights to limit the traffic?
Or build another bridge/crossing,which was talked about some time ago further down the Thames,already paid for by existing tolls
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Or build another bridge/crossing,which was talked about some time ago further down the Thames,already paid for by existing tolls
i hope they never build that new bridge as its supposed to be going only a mile up the road from me. and i really dont want my view interupted with a concrete mess.
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Ah but think of the wild-life that live in /on the Thames!
It is well known that bridge/pier piles/pylons are a haven for wildlife providing both habitat and food, I once read somewhere that ten bridge support are equal to 150 hectares of plain silt/mud in providing food and shelter. With a name like "Big Birdy" i would have thought you might have supported it for the sake of the "little Birdies" ;-)
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im all for habitat for wildlife. but i could do without tens of thousands of extra cars on my local roads.
my end of southend is nice and peaceful and i like the view over the estuary where i can amble along on my little boat without any noise. very selfish i know.
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The amount we all pay in fuel duty, road tax etc etc there should not be any toll or charge anywhere in this country. the number of hours, not to mention pollution levels and sheer frustration that are caused queing at darford, tyne tunnel, humber, forth and tay bridges must cost us far more than the charges are worth. But that is the point-it cost us not them. Them being the transport dept aka browns second tier tax collectors. they do not give a roasted flip about how our journey is affected by their antics, as long as the money rolls in. It is the worst kind of hypocrosy to spout about green taxes then have hundreds of thousands of vehicles queing at a deliberate bottleneck so taxes can be collected. Concrete.
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If we had a proper English government, like the Scots and Welsh do, we could get rid of highway tolls, prescription charges, university tuition fees and our in-effective secondary education system but the non-English MPs at Westminster will vote for whatever their Whip demands, on English domestic issues.
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It was actually in the labour election minifesto that they would remove the charge that was two elections ago and we all know how politicians keep their word.
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Far from removing the toll the plan is to increase it to £1.50 for cars between certain hours, IIRC, 06:00-22:00 but free outside those hours as 'a congestion management measure' to encourage us to stagger our journeys; seriously.
My objections to that are quite simple, the congestion on the crossing is caused by the tolls by making every vehicle stop and restart and if I wanted to travel between Kent and Essex in the middle of the night I would already be doing so and saving £1.50 really isn't going to make it that much more attractive.
Oh, and there's a nice little sting in the tale of the proposals, the tolls will be reviewed on an annual basis and increased by a minimum of the rate of inflation to the nearest ten pence. Not only are the tolls going to stay they will be increasing annually, whooppee!!
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can they be removed - absolutely
will they be removed - no never
worst thing is the revenue is now going to a French comapny, bet that makes you all feel much better, and unlike the French, we are all to compliant- by now they'd have blocked the roads , burnt a few sheep and caused chaos- we just sit in endless queues for hours, like good little Englanders and continue to pay the toll. - where ever possible I avoid it but sometimes it's just not possible.
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Wotspur, I doubt the French would revolt - they are well versed in paying tolls, but at least they get decent roads in return for their 'investment'.
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