The government is due to rake in an extra £46m next year from the hike in Dartford Crossing charges.
The fee for using either the tunnel or the bridge is due to rise from £2.50 to £3.50 on September 1, although there will be a 70p discount for prepay drivers.
The hike in extra revenue resulted in renewed calls by Kent County Council leader Linden Kemkaran for a slice of the windfall, the size of which she described as “astonishing and shocking”.
The Labour government is more likely to use the cash to fund the Lower Thames Crossing, a new tunnel-road link aimed at reducing congestion on the Crossing which forms part of its 10-year plan for infrastructure.
The news emerged after Highways, an online news magazine, submitted a Freedom of Information request to the Department for Transport (DfT).
The DfT said the income raised by the new charges will be between £36m and £46m (gross) in the first year, according to the publication.
Cllr Kemkaran said today (July 29): “Kent residents and drivers were promised that the Dartford Crossing toll would end when the infrastructure was paid for, but convenient changes in policy mean the charge has continued indefinitely.
“These massive profits from the increase in charges will simply bolster the government’s coffers and are astonishing and shocking, considering this is effectively another tax increase that will hit hard-working people who have no choice but to use the crossing.
“As I outlined in my recent letter to the Secretary of State for Transport there is no reasonable alternative route for anyone in Kent making the journey to the Midlands, North and beyond.
“This places huge constraints on the local and national economy. On top of this, the Crossing’s accounts for 2023-24 show that cash receipts were £221.6m with operating costs of £134.9m, leaving a net profit of £86.7m.
“That is before this unacceptable increase goes ahead.”
The Reform UK leader of KCC renewed calls to be allowed some of the extra income to “maintain and improve our roads for the benefit of Kent residents and motorists”.
The DfT derived its projected increase in gross income by modelling of anticipated traffic flows between 2016 and 2033, factoring in the retail price index (RPI).
But the government department said its estimate should be “treated with caution given the limitations of the assessment”, and consequently that the “expected trends for changed traffic demand are the more pertinent consideration”.
A DfT statement added: “The increase in charges at Dartford is to secure the effective operation of the Crossing so that it works well for the drivers who use it and the local residents affected by it.
“The need to increase the charges to manage traffic highlights the need for the additional capacity the Lower Thames Crossing can provide, for which the Government has allocated £590m in funding.”
Lillian Greenwood, the roads minister, told the House of Commons in June: “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.
“The need to increase the charges to manage traffic highlights the need for the additional capacity that LTC, for which the government confirmed new funding [in June], will provide.”
