Roland Perry wrote:

When I used the Dartford Crossing about three months ago (for the first
time in years) I had no idea if it was still tolled, and if so what the
charging arrangements were. It was cheaper than I was expecting (for a
tolled road, I'd have been just as happy if it had been free).


It should have been free.

The concession to design, build, and finance the bridge and operate
the whole crossing including the tunnels included a toll charge to
fund the new construction. The concession was to end at a defined
point based on toll revenue paying off the debt. From that point
onwards, no toll would be charged.

The concession has now ended and the crossing has reverted to public
ownership. So it should be free, but isn't because the government has
decided to use it to raise revenue for other things. Not only did the
toll charges remain in place after handover, they were recently raised
to £2.00 per car.