More than 2.4 million Dart Charge fines were issued to drivers using the Dartford Crossing in a single year, new figures have revealed — despite a long-standing promise that the crossing would become free once its construction costs were paid off.
Figures obtained through a Freedom of Information request show National Highways issued 2,426,867 Penalty Charge Notices in the 12 months leading up to 28 September 2026, to drivers who failed to pay the crossing charge.
The total value of those fines reached £177,987,943 — significantly more than the £120 million it cost to build the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which opened in October 1991.
But the amount actually recovered was far lower. Just £28,390,129.76 was collected from the fines issued in that period — under £30 million, or roughly 16% of the total value issued.
The gap between fines issued and money collected is explained in part by drivers successfully appealing their penalties, cancelled fines and outstanding payments, as well as the discount offered to drivers who pay within 14 days.
Drivers were previously promised the crossing would become free once its construction costs had been recovered — a milestone reached 15 years ago. Instead, charges remain: cars pay £3.50 per crossing, while buses, coaches and two-axle vans pay £4.20. Motorbikes cross for free.
The crossing carries around 50 million vehicles a year, connecting Kent and Essex across the River Thames. The original crossing opened in 1963 as a tunnel beneath the river, before the 137-metre-high cable-stayed Queen Elizabeth II Bridge was added in 1991.
The figures underline how the Dart Charge, introduced to replace payment booths and keep traffic moving, has become a major source of penalty income — even though most of the money fined is never ultimately collected.
For London drivers, the crossing is a key part of the M25 orbital route. The A315 London Road in Hounslow was closed in both directions after a crash on Monday evening, while a crash closed Stonecot Hill in Sutton and a vehicle fire closed the A204 in Tulse Hill in recent days.
