FTA calls for an end to tolls at Darfford
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• The Freight Transport Association is lobbying the Highways Agency in a bid to exempt trucks from tolls on the Dartford Crossing.
The agency caused an uproar in September when it announced that it would continue to levy tolls at the crossing, even when the bridge has finally been paid for. It promised to use the annual £50m revenue to fund other projects (CM 27 Sept-3 Oct).
The government had previously promised that the fees would be scrapped once the cost of the Queen Elizabeth Bridge had been recouped.
Hauliers say that the £2.90 charge is not only a financial burden; queues at the toll booths regularly cause long delays, particularly at peak times.
John Guttridge, London and South East regional director with the FTA, says: "There is no evidence that continuing tolls will mean any reduction in journeys—and once again business is being subjected to highway robbery."