Dartford Toll

[pusskin]

Have any Abers been through the Dartford Toll.
Such a shame you cant just go through now after just chucking money in the bucket. How can you pay if you have no internet access please.

[Maydup]

I went through on Wednesday, but I did pay online first.

Unless you are a regular user, you do not need to set up an account or anything. You can pay online for a single trip, just enter your registration number and pay with paypal.

Otherwise check the website for alternative methods, such as cash at a local outlet - no good for me as I don't have time to find one of those, or by phone on. 0300 300 0120

https://www.gov.uk/pay-dartford-crossing-charge

[Zacs-Master]

puss....how are you posting if you have no internet access?

https://www.gov.uk/pay-dartford-crossing-charge

[pusskin]

Many thanks. i have internet at home, but wont have any i dont think while i'm away for 12 dys.

[Maydup]

Best to pay now for the number of crossings you anticipate. If you don't use them they'll be there for another time.

I know its a pain, but its easier than searching for a payzone in the local area especially if you're going onwards and have no intention of stopping nearby.

[pusskin]

Thank you Maydup. Can i phone them to book Saturdays booking and return journey on the 23rd July?

[Maydup]

You can phone and pay for a fixed number of crossings. Just pay for two crossings and you'll have them in the bag - one for going over and the other to use coming back. There's no need to state when you plan on going, there is no time limit on using them. You will just have two credits if you see what I mean.

[Maydup]

Safe journey.

[smoneybags]

We have a thing that sticks to our windscreen which charges the toll straight to our bank account.

[pusskin]

Many thanks for all your reply Abers.
Mr P has changed our plans, so panic over I'm pleased to say.
my well travelled next door neighbour said that she never travels the way we were going, and the M3 is the best but bit longish way. So.....
Mr Pusskin prefers to go that way. Night night abers x Thank you again

[pusskin]

Will keep all your much welcome advice in hand for our next visit through the Toll. I thought it paid for itself yrs ago, but they wont stop trying to get loads of money from some where.

[New Judge]

"We have a thing that sticks to our windscreen which charges the toll straight to our bank account. "

That thing, smoney, is a "Dart Tag". Although they still "ping" when you make a crossing the Dart Tag scheme no longer operates. Your account will have been migrated to a "Dart Charge" account. The crossing now operates by Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) and it is not necessary to have the Dart Tag on your windscreen.

[Baldric]

https://www.gov.uk/pay-dartford-crossing-charge

[jourdain2]

I can't remember now what it was called, but you can go to a shop and pay there up to 24 hours later. The one we went to was a tiny Sainsbury's in Malton. Someone on here told me about it. Not Paypal, but something like that. Sorry not to be more help. Whoever it was, please come back and repeat explanation. It was about January this year.

Like you I think that leaving a 'chuck the money in' bucket would have been the sensible option for once or twice a year users. It was a big worry to me when moving back to UK.

[Baldric]

Your ^^^^ thinking of PAYPOINT

[Mick-the-Miller]

The Dart Tag system is no longer in operation, ANPR is used in conjunction with the Dart Charge system - where you set up an account which is automatically debited.

You can pay 'manually' at payzone outlets - which are few and far between - or over the phone.

On another topic, the Dartford Toll is now classes as a Congestion a Charge all

[Mick-the-Miller]

.....on another topic, the Dartford Toll is now classed as a 'Congestion Charge' - all that stuff about the toll being just until the capital cost is paid off has been conveniently forgotten.

There are plans to build another Crossing to relieve the congestion, consultations were done last year but I haven't heard anything about it for quite a while and you expect it to take Donkey Years for anything to happen, which is the norm for this Country!

[SlackAlice]

Mick-the-Miller
They've been talking about another crossing since 1943!

http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/architecture-design-blog/2014/jun/30/bridge-east-london-missing-link-transport-relaunch

On the north side in Barking, Essex they actually built all the roads leading towards it (A406) about 30 yrs ago. I know that because I was evicted from a house that had been compulsory purchased earlier and I was renting from the Ministry of Transport.

[New Judge]

I think Mick is talking about another crossing at Dartford, Slack, to augment the two tunnels and brige currently there. The lack of progress with proposed bridge you mention in the Beckton area is an absolute disgrace. The land has been reserved (and has lain unused for decades, even during the Dockland redevlopment schemes) and the prevarication over it is outrageous. At present there is no fixed crossing between Blackwall (which itself is heavily congested most of the time) and Dartford. The Woolwich Ferry is a joke and has no place as part of modern transport infrastructure in a place like east London.

[New Judge]

And I forgot to add that the removal of the toll barriers has done little to ease congestion, certainly northbound, at Dartford. The main problem in that direction is not delays caused by the tolls but the sheer weight of traffic joining the M25 mainly from the A2 but also from the A225. There is now little delay caused by the works to remove the barriers as it is almost complete but yesterday at about 3pm the northbound congestion on the M25 stretched from the crossing almost back to junction 5 for Sevenoaks, a distance of almost eleven miles. If a new northbound crossing is considered it would be wise to provide one solely for traffic coming off the A2 so that the merge with the M25 would be north of the tunnel. Of course that would shift congestion to the north of the river but it may be more readily accommodated there with a bit of remodelling which is not feasible on the south side.