Editing Dartford Crossing (section)

===Charging scheme===
In 2000, the [[European Union]] issued a directive that [[value-added tax]] should be charged on all road tolls, including the Dartford Crossing. The Government opposed the directive and said it would bear the additional cost.<ref>{{cite news |title=Europe imposes road toll VAT |work=BBC News |date=12 September 2000 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/922119.stm |access-date=6 July 2014}}</ref> It was anticipated that the tolls would be removed on 1 April 2003 under the original PFI scheme contract. However, the Highways Agency decided that the tolls would become a "charge", under legislation introduced by the [[Transport Act 2000]] to introduce charging schemes on any trunk road bridge or tunnel at least {{convert|600|m|ft}} in length.{{sfn|HA|2014|p=5}}<ref>{{cite news |title=Motorists "let down" by toll u-turn |date=1 April 2003 |work=[[BBC News]] |publisher=BBC |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2905225.stm |access-date=27 February 2008 |quote="From [1 April 2003] motorists should have been able to cross for free but the government's change of mind means car drivers still have to pay the £1 charge. The AA Motoring Trust, a new charity linked to the AA said the government had broken its promise to scrap the toll. In 1996, the consortium behind the bridge proposed building a second bridge at no extra cost to the Treasury, on condition that the concession period was increased to allow them to recover their costs and generate a profit."}}</ref>{{Sfn|Banister|Berechman|2003|p=65}}

Under the 2000 Transport Act, the A282 Trunk Road (Dartford-Thurrock Crossing charging scheme) Order 2002 allowed the continuation of the crossing fee, which officially became a charge and not a toll on 1 April 2003. Management of the crossing was contracted to Le Crossing Company Limited on behalf of the Highways Agency.{{sfn|HA|2014|p=6}} In September 2009 the Highways Agency made a new contract with Connect Plus (M25) Limited. As well as maintaining the crossing, the contract required the company to widen around 40 miles of the M25 and to refurbish a tunnel on the [[A1(M)]] at [[Hatfield, Hertfordshire|Hatfield]].{{sfn|HA|2014|p=6}} In October 2009, the Government announced its intention to sell the crossing as part of a public sector deficit reduction strategy.<ref>
{{cite news
|title=Gordon Brown's fire sale of public assets to raise £16bn
|last=Stratton
|first=Allegra
|author-link=Allegra Stratton
|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]
|location=[[London]]
|date=12 October 2009
|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/oct/12/gordon-brown-public-asset-sale
|access-date=11 July 2010
|quote=Not all of the assets are surprising, with chancellor Alistair Darling announcing last month that the government intended to sell off the Dartford crossing as part of its attempt to meet the £16bn target.
}}
</ref> The announcement was unpopular with local residents, who encouraged drivers to sound their horns in protest when using the crossing.<ref>{{cite news |title=Dartford Crossing future in doubt |work=BBC News |date=26 April 2010 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/election_2010/england/8644336.stm |access-date=6 July 2014}}</ref> After the change of government following the [[2010 United Kingdom general election|2010 general election]], the new [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|prime minister]] [[David Cameron]] announced that the crossing might still be sold, despite local opposition, particularly from [[Gareth Johnson]], [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] (MP) for Dartford.<ref>{{cite news |title=DARTFORD: New MP vows to fight Dartford Crossing sale and tolls |work=News Shopper |date=16 May 2010 |url=http://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/8167032.DARTFORD__New_MP_vows_to_fight_Dartford_Crossing_sale_and_tolls/ |access-date=6 July 2014}}</ref> Subsequently, the chancellor [[George Osborne]] announced that charges would be increased instead to cover the budget deficit.<ref>{{cite news |title=Dartford Crossing toll charge to be increased |work=BBC News |date=18 June 2010 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-11586160 |access-date=6 July 2014}}</ref> Pre-pay accounts for the crossing were introduced around this time; drivers held an [[electronic toll collection|electronic device]] called a DART-Tag in the vehicle that automatically deducted the charge at payment booths.<ref>{{cite web |title=Dart Charge – FAQ |publisher=Dart Tag (official website) |url=http://www.dart-tag.co.uk/nossl/index.php?page=faq |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130325064246/http://www.dart-tag.co.uk/nossl/index.php?page=faq |archive-date=25 March 2013}}</ref> This was abolished when the Dart Charge was introduced in 2014.<ref>{{cite web |title=Dart Charge: Dartford Crossing remote payment |publisher=Highway Agency |date=16 December 2014 |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/dart-charge-dartford-crossing-remote-payment |access-date=7 August 2016}}</ref>

Under the 2008 Charging Order introduced on 15 November 2008, charges between 10&nbsp;pm and 6&nbsp;am were discontinued, but standard daytime rates increased, starting at £1.50 for cars.<ref>{{cite web |title=The A282 Trunk Road (Dartford-Thurrock Crossing Charging Scheme) Order 2008 |publisher=Highways Agency |date=21 July 2008 |url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2008/1951/body/made?view=plain |access-date=6 July 2014}}</ref> On 7 October 2012 the charges increased to £2 for cars, £2.50 for 2 axle goods vehicles and £5 for multi-axle goods vehicles.<ref>{{cite news |title=Dartford Crossing toll charges set to rise |work=BBC News |date=22 May 2012 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-18159668 |access-date=6 December 2016}}</ref> By 2012, local businesses were complaining that the crossing's charge booths were impeding local growth. The government announced that a new electronic charging system would be introduced in 2014. Drivers would be able to pay by phone, text, online or in shops.<ref>{{cite news |work=BBC News |title=Businesses want Dartford Crossing toll booth removal speeded-up |date=30 November 2012 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-20554969 |access-date=4 July 2014}}</ref> The charge was proposed to increase to £2.50 for cars, £3 for two-axle goods vehicles and £6 for multi-axle vehicles.<ref>{{cite web |title=Revised charges at Dartford Crossing |last=Penning |first=Mike |publisher=Department for Transport |date=22 May 2012 |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/revised-charges-to-improve-dartford-crossing |access-date=7 July 2014}}</ref> Drivers not exempt and not paying the charge within 28 days are charged £105.<ref>{{cite news |title=Dartford Crossing fines up to £105 when barriers removed |work=BBC News |date=1 November 2012 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-20168817 |access-date=4 July 2014}}</ref>

Preparation work on the free-flow scheme started in April 2014.<ref>{{cite news |title=Dartford free-flow crossing work begins |work=BBC News |date=22 April 2014 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-27102777 |access-date=4 July 2014}}</ref> Concerns were raised about reliability, with a Highways Agency report predicting that it could lose up to £6m of unpaid charges per year.<ref>{{cite news |title=Dartford Crossing to lose '£6m a year in unpaid tolls' |work=BBC News |date=17 July 2013 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-23334597 |access-date=4 July 2014}}</ref> In September, the Highways Agency announced that the new scheme would start to operate at the end of November, though related works to remove barriers would continue until April 2015.<ref>{{cite news |title=Dartford Crossing cashless system date set |work=BBC News |date=20 September 2014 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-29293449 |access-date=25 September 2014}}</ref> Subsequently, the date for removal of the booths was confirmed as 30 November.<ref name="km20141105">{{cite news |title=Dart Charge date fixed for November 30 when Dartford Crossing goes toll booth free |newspaper=Kent Messenger |date=5 November 2014 |url=http://www.kentonline.co.uk/dartford/news/date-set-for-crossing-change-26502/ |access-date=6 November 2014}}</ref>

The Dart Charge scheme was considered a success by the project management, who claimed it has reduced peak-time round trips over the crossing by 15 minutes. [[The Automobile Association]] said the scheme had faults, while a 2015 BBC report showed 1.8 million fines had been issued for failure to pay in the year since the charge was set up.<ref>{{cite news |title=More than 1.8 million fines at Dartford crossing under Dart charge |work=BBC News |date=30 November 2015 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-34968025 |access-date=8 August 2016}}</ref>

In 2023, a system upgrade prevented many users from paying the Dart Charge, and National Highways temporarily extended its payment deadline to accommodate the problem.<ref name="Blunt-31Jul2023">{{cite news |last1=Blunt |first1=Rose |title=Dart Charge: Drivers struggling to pay for Dartford Crossing |work=BBC News |date=31 July 2023 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-66361486 |access-date=1 August 2023}}</ref>