The government will introduce the UK’s very first barrier-free toll in two years’ time – as well as it declares the plan will expense as much as £84million to set up.
The toll booths at the Thames crossing in Dartford, Kent, will be replaced with automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras in October 2014.
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Rather than hand over cash, motorists will pay by means of text, phone, on the internet or at retail outlets – in a system similar to the London Congestion Charge. The department for transfer states the new ‘free-flow’ set-up will speed up web traffic as well as minimize congestion.
However, the added effectiveness will come at a cost. The Highways company expects to pay as much as £84m to whoever wins the contract to produce the free-flow toll, to finance tearing down barriers, installing cameras as well as building the repayment system.
So it’d take 42 million vehicles paying the £2 toll to break even. The contractor will likewise rake in between £237m as well as £478m from the government to run the toll for 10 years.
Absent-minded crossing individuals will likewise feel the pinch, as present government proposals on penalising motorists who drive with free-flow tolls without paying suggest fines must be as high as £180.
The authorities might be provided power to impound the automobiles of motorists who have three unpaid charge notices.