Dartford toll discounts announced

The discounts will enable Dartford residents to save up to 90%

People living near the Dartford Crossing in Kent will be entitled to 50 free crossings a year in exchange for a small charge, the government has said.

Residents in Dartford and Thurrock, Essex, will get the free journeys after they pay a £10 registration fee.

Crossings thereafter will cost 20p compared with between £1 and £1.50 for other car drivers, Transport Minister Rosie Winterton announced on Thursday.

Separate discounts will be available to other motorist using an electronic tag.

Ms Winterton said the move was in response to demands from local people for discounted toll charges.

It is unjust if the government does not give similar discounts to users of all other crossings in Britain National Alliance Against Tolls spokesman

Under the scheme residents who register will be given an electronic tag, known as a "Dart-Tag" to display in their car's windscreen.

She said: "Local people made a strong case for a discount and we have listened. We will introduce the local discount alongside the new charging regime for all vehicles in the autumn.

"This local discount scheme is for residents of Dartford and Thurrock. But anyone, regardless of where they live, can benefit from a 50p reduction on the new cash charges for cars simply by paying with a Dart-Tag."

The toll was to end in 2003, when the bridge and tunnel had been paid for, but was kept on by the Department for Transport (DfT) as a congestion charge.

The DfT said an independent report in 2001 showed that without charges, traffic would increase by 17.1%.

Dr Howard Stoate, Labour MP for Dartford said: "It will provide a major saving for local residents who use the crossing and will go some way to making up for the congestion and pollution generated by the crossing that we have to put up with on a daily basis."

A spokesman for the National Alliance Against Tolls called for similar discounts to be introduced across the county.

He said: "It is unjust if the government does not give similar discounts to users of all other crossings in Britain. Better still, it should scrap the tolls altogether."