Dartford Crossing banks extra £50m from drivers in a year after Labour raised the fee
The Government is being blamed for ripping motorists off after the Dartford Crossing raked in an extra £50million last year, in what has been described as an ‘outrage’.
The major road crossing over the River Thames, which connects Essex and Kent, charges motorists to cross, a payment known as the Dart Charge.
After Labour increased tolls for drivers, the Dartford Crossing recorded its largest-ever revenue year in 2025: £189.2million was raised from the toll, up from £140million in 2024, the Telegraph reports.
This is the largest revenue figure since records began in 2004.
Motorists were promised the tolls would be removed by Conservative governments in the 1980s and 1990s once the tunnel and Queen Elizabeth II Bridge had been paid off. However, tolls have stayed in place since.
Edmund King, AA president, said: ‘It is an outrage that drivers still must pay the Dartford toll when the M4 and M48 tolls to Wales were abolished in 2018 and tolls in Scotland were abolished in 2008.
‘Not only do drivers have to pay the toll, but the charge was hiked by 40 per cent last year.’
The Dartford Crossing recorded its largest-ever revenue year in 2025: £189.2million was raised from the toll, up from £140million in 2024, the Telegraph reports – all going to the Government
Last year, Labour raised the toll car drivers have to pay by 40 per cent, from £2.50 to £3.50, which has helped swell government coffers.
Similarly, on September 1, 2025, buses and HGVs saw fees go up. Large buses, coaches and vans now pay £8.20 to cross, while smaller buses (under two axles), coaches and vans pay £4.20.
Pre-pay account holders and local residents benefit from a discounted rate, a 20 per cent reduction.
At the time of hiking the charges, the DfT argued: ‘The new charges will be significantly lower than if they had increased in line with inflation since the tariff was last fully revised in 2014.’
Justifying the hike, then parliamentary under-secretary of state in the Department for Transport, Lilian Greenwood, said: ‘In the 11 years since [2014, when charges were last increased], demand at the crossing has grown by 7.5 per cent, with the crossing now used by an average of more than 150,000 vehicles every day and up to 180,000 vehicles on the busiest days.
‘These traffic levels are well in excess of the crossing’s design capacity, causing delays for drivers using the crossing, congestion and journey disruption for drivers on the M25 and a range of knock-on impacts for local communities.
‘Current charging levels are no longer sufficient to achieve their stated aim of managing demand so that the crossing works well for users and local people.’
Edmund King countered: ‘What was introduced to pay for a bridge has effectively become a permanent charge on drivers who, in many cases, have little practical alternative but to cross the Thames at Dartford.
‘Successive governments have found the revenues too attractive to give up.
‘Drivers have paid for this crossing many times over. It has been argued that the toll remains to reduce congestion, but this is money for nothing as drivers have no choice but to cross the Thames. Nobody uses the Dartford Crossing for the fun of it.’
If motorists forget to pay the Dart Charge, which must be paid by midnight on the day after they cross via the GOV.UK website, they will receive a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN).
In January, This is Money reported that motorists have lost more than £3.6million in unused Dart Charge payments in the last two years
The standard Dart Charge PCN fine is £70. This amount is reduced to £35 if early payment is made within 14 days.
However, it increases to £105 if payment is not made within 28 days.
In January, This is Money reported that motorists have lost more than £3.6million in unused Dart Charge payments in the last two years.
A freedom of information request to National Highways, the Government body responsible for managing the crossing’s payment system, revealed that in the 2023-24 financial year there were £1,812,379 of unused Dart Charge payments.
In the following financial year, pre-paid deposits of £1,790,559 were made on non-journeys.
As such, the total value of unused payments amounted to a staggering £3,602,938.
National Highways said customers who pay in advance are made aware that the payment remains valid for 12 months. However, any crossings not used within that period ‘expire’.
As the Department for Transport retains the pre-paid deposits, and the majority of these expired payments are not refunded, the DfT absorbs them instead.
A DfT spokesman said: ‘Every penny of Dart Charge revenue is reinvested in transport projects, including those benefitting people across Essex and Kent such as supporting the Lower Thames Crossing, which reduces the burden on the public purse.
‘Charges were increased last September to keep the crossing safe and running smoothly, as it’s now being used by far more vehicles each day than it was built for.’
