Residents petition to scrap toll

Residents claim the toll increases traffic congestion

Residents have set up a petition calling for charges at the Dartford Crossing in Kent to be scrapped.

The toll was due to end in April 2003, after the cost of the tunnel and bridge across the Thames had been paid off.

Councillor Clarence Barrett, from London Borough of Havering, who is heading the campaign, said the charge was no longer justified.

The Department for Transport (DfT) said the toll was now a "road user charge" designed to fight traffic congestion.

"Our evidence shows that if you were to remove the toll there would be a huge increase in congestion," a spokesman added.

Local concessions

Mr Barrett said the toll is worsening congestion on the route, which carries about 145,000 vehicles every day.

He said: "The bitter irony about this now being called a congestion charge is that the toll is causing the congestion.

"They use it because they have to use it, because there is no alternative route."

The DfT currently has no plans to remove the charges, but has offered some concessions for locals.

"We have recently published proposals to give local residents a discount on the crossing, and we are also removing charges at night," a spokesman said.