| Wednesday, 05 January 2005 | |
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MP demands bigger slice of toll revenue for Kent Thameside Dartford MP, Dr Howard Stoate has called for Kent Thameside to be given its ‘fair share’ of the annual revenue from the Dartford River Crossing Tolls. Since 2002, £1million has been set aside each year by the Department of Transport for local transport schemes in Kent Thameside such as the construction of the new interchange and rail station at Greenhithe. This figure represents only around 2% of the Department of Transport’s net income from the tolls however. “Kent Thameside residents get a raw deal from the Dartford Crossing at the moment. We have to put up with the congestion and the pollution that it causes, but we don’t get much in return. Kent Thameside has a right to a fair share of the income,” said Dr Stoate. The MP is also calling for local drivers which use the Crossing regularly to be given a discount. “Local people who depend on the crossing for work purposes and so on should not have to pay the same charge as users who don’t live in this area. I would like to see some of the money from the toll revenue used to subsidise a discount for local drivers who use it on a daily basis,” said the MP. Notes The Dartford River Crossing was formally transferred back to the Department of Transport on 1 April 2002 after the full costs of construction of the QEII Bridge had been paid off. Using provisions contained within the Transport Act 2000 a new Dartford-Thurrock Crossing charging scheme came into force on 1 April 2003. The Transport Act requires that the net income generated by the charging scheme be spent on transport policies for a minimum of 10 years. The Dartford River Crossing generated a gross income of £69.1m in the financial year 2003-04. The net income received by the Department of Transport after the deduction of running costs is approximately £51m. A differential toll charging scheme, is expected to be used on the new £455m Thames Gateway Bridge between Beckton and Thamesmead with residents and businesses in Barking and Dagenham, Newham, Bexley and Greenwich likely to be eligible to receive a reduction. Le Crossing which currently runs the Dartford to Thurrock Crossing operates a pre-payment scheme for regular users called Dart-Tag. Dart-Tag users – regardless of where they live or their businesses are based - benefit from a 7.5% reduction on each journey. |
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