MORE than 100,000 vehicles have been registered for a Dart Charge account, the Highways Agency revealed today.

The Dart Charge free-flow scheme comes into force on November 30 and will mean vehicles no longer stop at a barrier to pay the Crossing charge.

Instead, the charge can be paid online, by phone or post or at one of thousands of retailers nationwide.

Highways Agency project director Nigel Gray said: "For most people using the Dartford Crossing, a prepay account will be the cheapest and most convenient way to pay the crossing charge. I'm really encouraged by the take up so far, but urge all drivers who use the Crossing to sign up for an account and benefit from the discount it offers."

Fleet operators and haulage firms have been among the first to sign up. 1157 business fleets have already been migrated to Dart Charge, and the Dart Charge team are working with the 100 largest fleet operators - between them covering more than 20,000 vehicles - to help them prepare for the changes.

Foreign drivers have been setting up accounts too, with 3% of overall accounts - around the same proportion of foreign vehicles that that use the crossing each day. Registrations from 52 different countries have been received so far.

All existing DART-Tag customers should now have been contacted with details of how to migrate their account. Any who have not yet been contacted should now call the Dart Charge team.

But some residents say they are still unsure of what the changes will mean to them and what the best way of paying the charge is.

ABOUT DART CHARGE:

Dart Charge in numbers

  • £2.50 the new cost for a car to use the Dartford Crossing from 30 November – reduced to £1.67 if paid using a prepay Dart Charge account
  • Over 77,000 number of accounts set up so far – covering over 100,000 vehicles 53% of people a day are registering for auto top up so they don’t have to remember to pay
  • It takes less than 7 minutes on average to set up an account 12% accounts set up on a mobile device 18% of accounts set up on a tablet 52 - number of countries where users have registered for account, including Germany, France, Netherlands Belgium, Spain, Poland, Italy, Czech Republic, Belgium, Spain plus one from … New Zealand

Frequently Asked Questions:

Dart Charge is a massive change to how people use the Dartford Crossing. Here are answers to some of the most frequent questions about the new payment arrangements:

  • When will the new payment arrangements be introduced?

Dart Charge will be introduced at 6am on Sunday 30 November 2014.

  • Why are you making the changes?

Removing the need to stop and pay at the barriers will ease congestion and speed up journeys for everyone.

  • How will I pay?

From 30 November you will be able to make one-off payments: online at www.gov.uk/dart-charge; by phone on 0300 300 0120; by post to PO Box 842, Leeds, LS1 9QF; at one of thousands of Payzone retail outlets or alternatively, you can set up a pre-pay account now and receive savings of up to one-third on every crossing made during the charging hours (6am – 10pm) from 30 November.

  • How can I set up a pre-pay account?

Online at www.gov.uk/dart-charge, over the phone on 0300 300 0120 or by post.

  • What happens if I already have an account with DART-Tag?

There is no need to set up a new account – we’ll send you personalised instructions shortly to tell you how you can quickly and easily transfer to Dart Charge.

  • I don’t want an account, when can I pay for an individual crossing?

You will be able to make one-off payments from the 30 November; the day the new charging services go live.

  • When do I need to pay the charge?

The charging hours are between 6am -10pm every day. It will still be free to use the Crossing between 10pm and 6am.

If you don’t set up a Dart Charge account you will need to pay the charge in advance or by midnight the following day for every crossing you make within the charging hours (6am – 10pm) after the 30 November.

  • What happens if I don’t pay?

If you do not pay by midnight on the day after your crossing, you will face a penalty.

  • Where can I find further information?

Further information and answers to frequently asked questions can be found by clicking here and everyone can subscribe to receive updates via this page.