The new charging system for the Dartford Crossing hasn't been mentioned on here lately, so don't forget that it comes into effect on Sunday (Nov 30th) evening.
I registered for an on-line account several weeks ago, and it all seemed to go through fine.
Details on here www.gov.uk/pay-dartford-crossing-charge
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Local residents get a discount. Isn't that discriminatory against non-local residents and therefore by extension, foreigners?
Isn't that conceivably racist?
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>> Local residents get a discount. Isn't that discriminatory against non-local residents and therefore by extension,
>> foreigners?
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>> Isn't that conceivably racist?
Could be, we have long considered the people who live in thurock to be neanderthal, and those in dartford to be tribal.
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Thanks for the reminder, pre Xmas overnight in Dunkerque was booked a couple of days ago.
Need to get MRs B's jalopy registered. In fact, unless it costs extra I'll register both.
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" In fact, unless it costs extra I'll register both."
Although we have only been down that way in the Astra recently, I registered my wife's Focus as well 'just in case'. It doesn't cost anything extra to register additional vehicles. I believe that you can add further vehicles to the account at any time. If it all works, it sounds like a good system.
I don't know if the barriers will still come down to regulate and slow traffic down. Even when it's charge-free after 10pm, the barriers still operate at present.
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>> I don't know if the barriers will still come down to regulate and slow traffic
>> down. Even when it's charge-free after 10pm, the barriers still operate at present.
I believe the toll booths are to be taken away. No barriers down or up. So endeth the lie about keeping the toll to prevent traffic increase and pollution.
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"I believe the toll booths are to be taken away. No barriers down or up."
I can picture it now - a modern version of 'The charge of the Light Brigade'.
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Finally sorted. Tried the online route, got as far as Direct Debit page and got message 'Identity Check Failed'. Couple of oddities before that:
Firstly the address lookup showed my road as being in Northampton. Not snobbish about living in what is after all a dormitory village but if the village name is missed items spend half a week in town before someone writes 'try Bugbrooke' on it and it eventually gets here.
Secondly, while I understand need to use digits, both cases and whatever in passwords why do they have to require it starts with a letter? I have three or four that I use but all start with a digit.
Anyway, after a long wait I got through to call centre, possibly in Scotland. Guy did his best but eventually had to start again. Anyway I've no got an account number and enough detail of the set up conversation to tell the Tribunal a convincing story were I penalised.
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"Finally sorted. Tried the online route, got as far as Direct Debit page and got message 'Identity Check Failed'. Couple of oddities before that: "
TBH, I had an initial problem with the online application form when, after completing and submitting the first page, it told me that the website had 'failed'. I noticed some sort of 'How did we do' button, so I told them. My wife convinced me that I should give it a while, then have another go - and hey presto - 20 minutes later it worked fine. I must remember to nag my son about it again - he has a a habit of getting into trouble by leaving everything until the last minute. Living at Swanley, he doesn't quite qualify as one of Z's Neanderthals.
We don't use the crossing very often so I just put the minimum £10 onto the account, and I don't intend to keep any more than that on there. I can imagine the toe-raggery, with their dodgy number plates, causing honest accounts to quickly drop to zero. If you ain't got much on there, you ain't got much to lose.
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I notice the charge for a car is £1-67 as from Sunday.
Am I dreaming or was it only £1-50 last time I went over the bridge?
Pat
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>> I notice the charge for a car is £1-67 as from Sunday.
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>> Am I dreaming or was it only £1-50 last time I went over the bridge?
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>> Pat
That's the figure that sticks in my mind too Pat. The extra 17p looks like £1.50 uprated by a formula based on Consumer or Retail Prices Index.
While the toll was largely paid in coin it could only increase in certain increments, no doubt with a preference for trying to keep to just one or two coins.
Next step would have been £2.
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"I notice the charge for a car is £1-67 as from Sunday.
Am I dreaming or was it only £1-50 last time I went over the bridge?"
In recent times that I've been over the bridge (past couple of years?), the standard charge has been £2 per crossing for cars - free between 10pm and 6am.
When I read that there would be a discount to 2/3rds the price for account holders, I had assumed that it would become £1.33 ……………. then I learned that the standard charge would go up to £2.50. so the discounted price would be £1.67. Heh, heh!
Recently, I have crossed back from s to n after 10pm; the no-charge is good, but the freedom from traffic is an absolute blessing.
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Is this what all the gantry signs saying "DART CHARGE - EXPECT DELAYS" are about? I'd assumed it was some sort of weird darts tournament thing.
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Does this mean that for people like me who go over/under a couple of times a year, that we can pay online after the event without having to register?
Last edited by: Duncan on Sun 30 Nov 14 at 09:32
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PITA if you forget though.
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I rarely have need to use the crossing, its only of use to me for travel to a pretty small quadrant of the country, a dairylea triangle with its point at Stratford Broadway, one side along the Thames to Southend, the other a line to Felixstowe.
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>> I rarely have need to use the crossing, its only of use to me for
>> travel to a pretty small quadrant of the country,
Similar for me. Kent and possibly Easternmost end of Sussex are only destinations where I'd use it. Brighton is easier via A43/M40/M25 (or M1 and M25 west)
Kent though effectively means Dover and a Channel crossing. I'd rather have the security of being registered than worrying about dodgy French wifi or mobile signal to pay at 23:58 next day.
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>> Does this mean that for people like me who go over/under a couple of times
>> a year, that we can pay online after the event without having to register?
You have until midnight on day following to pay. After that excesses etc. start to accrue. Those who still fail to pay get a 'Notice to Owner' similar to parking or bus lane enforcement.
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I never used the crossing much when I lived up that way, generally once a year as my accountant lived in Swanley. One of the the last times was '99 coming back from the World Superbikes at Brands when "Foggy fever" was at is peak and the event attracted a British record paying crowd for a sports event, 123,000 spectators. Because of the number of bikes going to the event the return crossing fee was incorporated in the ticket price, and being one of thousands of bikes on the return journey had to be experienced to be believed. Lane three of the M20 and the M25 was bikes only and looking ahead and behind all you could see at any point were a long line of bikes cruising along two abreast while the cars crawled nose to tail along on the other two lanes. The noise going through the tunnel made the hairs on the neck stand up, one of my most memorable days on a bike.
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Been on hold for 24 minutes trying to pay for a crossing. It won't accept my details on line. Ridiculous!
Last edited by: zippy on Sun 30 Nov 14 at 18:43
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>> Been on hold for 24 minutes trying to pay for a crossing. It won't accept
>> my details on line. Ridiculous!
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That's so you don't get withdrawal syptoms from having to queue to pay...... :-)
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>> That's so you don't get withdrawal syptoms from having to queue to pay...... :-)
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Ah, that makes it much better!
28 minutes in total!
Charge £2.50 plus phone bill!
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I registered an account in about 5 mins yesterday.
Was able to register my trade plates for car deliveries (we do quite a lot down to Maidstone/Tunbridge/ Canterbury etc) and also Mrs W's car for when we have our numerous trips to France per year.
Worth remembering that the charge when you have an account is £1.67 per crossing instead of the standard £2.50 so even for people who don't use it a lot it saves a bit and also saves the faff of remembering to do it by phone.
You pay £10 into your account to start with and when it drops below that it's automatically topped up to £10.
Seems worth the 5 mins spent doing it?
P
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I did that last week with no problem at all too.
It's just not worth the hassle of ringing up to pay for it.
Pat
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Why is there a charge at all?
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>> Why is there a charge at all?
Because they can and there's no easy alternative.
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I wonder if our local toll bridge will follow suit. You could get a lot of 12p bike crossings for a tenner credit.
tinyurl.com/ltnwvm8
All to cross a rusty bridge over a river that disappeared 120 years ago !
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>>All to cross a rusty bridge over a river that disappeared 120 years ago !
binged.it/1vaJMVF
Manchester ship canal dried up now Ted?
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>> >>All to cross a rusty bridge over a river that disappeared 120 years ago !
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>> binged.it/1vaJMVF
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>> Manchester ship canal dried up now Ted?
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HaHa...might as well have Tommy for all that uses it now. The toll is to cross the bridge crossing the old bed of the Mersey. The cantilever is free but you have to cross the tollbridge to get to it !
Here, amongst the trees. Follow the road North for the cantilever.
tinyurl.com/nuxuvnt
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>> I don't know if the barriers will still come down to regulate and slow traffic
>> down. Even when it's charge-free after 10pm, the barriers still operate at present.
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Went through southbound on Thursday around 06:45 returned yesterday shortly after 18:00.
They're in process of removing barriers. On bridge side they're gone and the vacated space is being remodelled. We were sent round east side of barrier site on a temporary formation. Signage going up suggested their will be a speed restricted/floodlit area where the charge cameras do their work. Traffic over bridge was flowing far more freely than last time I crossed on a weekday morning.
Northbound barriers are still in place operating in same way the previously did during nightime free period. Traffic was heavily slowed but moving with added complication of a closed lane in east tunnel.
Suspect new infrastructure on this side will be more complicated on account of need to sequence traffic for east or west tunnel - those using the Thurrock services junction really need west tunnel.
Also this area needs to be partly reversible allow for periods when bridge is closed and east tunnel is used in southbound direction.
Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Sat 20 Dec 14 at 09:59
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"Went through southbound on Thursday around 06:45 returned yesterday shortly after 18:00. "
With all the modifications currently going on, did the 'ANPR/take the money from your account' bit work OK? I haven't been down that way since the system changed, though I have an account lined up in readiness.
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>> With all the modifications currently going on, did the 'ANPR/take the money from your account'
>> bit work OK?
Yes it did. Debited £1.67 for each crossing and credited £10 to top up account. Current balance £16.66.
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"Yes it did."
Thanks; I look forward to testing it on our next trip to Swanley.
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>> "Yes it did."
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>> Thanks; I look forward to testing it on our next trip to Swanley.
Yes i can see how that would be a highlight if your destination is Swanley.
Actually, to be fair, the dartford crossing (bridge) is pretty spectacular viewed from land or from the top.
Last edited by: Zero on Sun 21 Dec 14 at 09:43
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"a highlight if your destination is Swanley"
When a young man is buying a house for the first time in the south east, then he has to start somewhere.
The Q.E Bridge is, as you say, quite spectacular; we have been under it on the PS Waverley - followed by a passage under Tower Bridge at night - even more spectacular if bridges are your thing.
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>> The new charging system for the Dartford Crossing hasn't been mentioned on here lately, so
>> don't forget that it comes into effect on Sunday (Nov 30th) evening.
It's not made much of an improvement on its first week day of operation, north bound anyway. It was backed up past the Darenth Interchange at J2 when i left work at 4.30pm !
I had to pay the charge online for the vehicles we had using it today as I still can't get through on the phone to get the activation code (which didn't arrive by email as it was supposed to) I need to transfer the account over from the old Dart Tag one despite trying many times.
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Latest info - 15% of drivers failed to pay
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-30633955
Average southbound journey times between 07:00 and 19:00 GMT had been cut
by more than nine minutes and at least four minutes had been taken off northbound trips, according to the agency.
......the first penalty charge notice issued for any vehicle for non-payment of the charge will offer the driver an extra 14 days to pay - and pay for any crossings they have made since.
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My son has just returned to Swanley via the Dartford crossing and reports:
"For all the controversies, the new system for crossing the river has made it much quicker and easier. No stopping, just a low speed limit."
That would have been a late morning crossing during a week when, I suspect, travel has not yet returned to normal after Christmas.
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>> That would have been a late morning crossing during a week when, I suspect, travel
>> has not yet returned to normal after Christmas.
Well if the usually full but practically empty train this morning between Reading and Bath is anything to go by, I'd say your suspicions are correct.
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>> Well if the usually full but practically empty train this morning between Reading and Bath
>> is anything to go by, I'd say your suspicions are correct.
As I said in another thread the holiday landscape this year means anyone who an will take 2 Jan as leave. The big return home will be Sunday. Trains back to normal on Monday.
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Dartford Crossing: 18,000 foreign drivers fail to pay
A total of 56,408 penalty charges remain unpaid from December
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-31637572
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Not that many then out off the 4 million plus crossings since the new system was installed
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Dartford Crossing charge... - Duncan
