In article .com,
Mizter T writes
[snip]
I'm sure that utl would be interested to hear of the dark secrets of
the Dartford Crossing once you've found them out.

I'll try and post anything I find out.

By the by though I can't find any online reference to it I'm
nonetheless sure I've recently read or heard something about proposals
for the toll to go up, possibly £1.50 for cars IIRC, with bigger
increases for HGVs. The crossing would also become free to use
overnight for both cars and HGVs, though it's most likely won't be of
much consolation to you!

Yes, I've heard that rumour as well. People who live in Essex seem to
know all about it, so I think it's been reported locally. There is also
a rumour that the DART-Tag price may stay the same when the cash toll
goes up.

I hadn't heard about the free overnight usage. Currently they charge a
flat rate of £1 for overnight usage regardless of the type of vehicle.
It doesn't make any difference if you drive a car, but make a lot of
difference if you drive an HGV.

I'm sure you're aware of this Helen but just for anyone who isn't and
might be interested the Dartford Crossing's pre-pay tag system is
called DART-Tag and offers a 7.5% discount (which obviously is well
worth doing if you're a regular river-crosser

One of the first things I did when I found out about the relocation to
Basildon was acquired a DART-Tag. I effectively get one free crossing in
every 14:-) It's also handy for avoiding the queues at the paying toll
booths. Most mornings I go through the DART-Tag lane, which feeds into
the east tunnel, but if there's congestion between J30 and J29 and I'm
going to use the A13 rather than the A127 then I choose to go through an
operator lane and get into the west tunnel - although there is actually
time to change lanes on the other side for J30 (A13) if you go through
the east tunnel.

Coming home I rarely use the DART-Tag lane because I don't like crossing
the QEII Bridge in the far right lane. I also don't like crossing it in
the far left lane. I find bridges which aren't level are a bit scary to
cross and I prefer to be in a lane which isn't at the edge of the
bridge:-)

but doesn't quite
compare to the half-price expectation I now have of smartcards
courtesy of Oyster!).
More info:
https://www.dartfordrivercrossing.co...-tag/index.asp

I've got an Oyster card, too! And so's my other half. I wasn't using the
Tube regularly after the last office relocation, which moved me closer
to London Bridge and Cannon Street, so I changed from a TravelCard to a
train-only season ticket and got an Oyster card for those occasions when
I did need to use the Tube or a bus.

I'm looking forward to the time when I'll be able to use Oyster on the
trains. If I go up to town, I need to predict whether I will want to use
the Tube or not at the time of buying my ticket, and it would be much
more convenient to just use an Oyster for the whole journey, as it would
charge me up to the TravelCard fare if I *did* use the Tube, and less if
I didn't.

Helen

Helen Edith Stephenson helen at baronmoss dot demon dot co dot uk
--
(I'm sure you can figure out what I mean!)
http://www.wuronga.me.uk/helen/