Hi, Have the horrendous queues gone please?

Just set up my account and was a little surprised to find top up threshold is £10 and min top up is £10. That means they have £10 times the number of accounts in the bank almost all the time. For infrequent users this is a bit much but with interest rates as they are and the 83p reduction then it is OK but the principle not.
My Oyster top up threshold is £10 but then I would use that in one day out whereas the £10 bridge would probably last me the year.

Moggy, Thanks for mentioning dartsave, I looked at them after one of your previous posts and of course they charge you the full £2.50 for this service.
Being the anally retentive type of person I am I did look at the cost to me.

Before my single crossing yesterday my account balance was £10. One crossing reduced it to £8.33 so immediately a ten pound top up!!!!! Thus they now have £18.33. However, you have saved 83p. If you didn’t use the crossing again for 12 months then you would only be better off if you had had the money invested at a return greater than 4.5% which is tricky these days. Of course, if you need the £20 it’s a different matter.

What I object to is them holding so much money when the unit charge is relatively so low when compared to public transport and an Oyster card, with the exception of buses that is. Although you could argue their income from the money held contributes to the reduction in the crossing charge.

I did worn you I am OCPD!!!

Paul

If this system proves ‘efficient’ perhaps it could be rolled-out over the whole road system? 😉

Now there’s a cheery thought first thing in the morning! I hate all forms of indirect taxation. Pay once on income and then you know exactly how much tax you are paying and you save all the overheads of operating all the different schemes. But then I am naive.

How? Are there barriers? Or security staff to give pursuit?

Neither they just accept that they will loose £6m a year and just increase the “charge”, it is not a “toll” apparently, all the law abiding travellers to cover the loss!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-23334597

Interestingly the original PFI contract required what was originally a toll to cease when the debts had been paid off. However, as usual this was the thin end of the wedge and when the time came in 2002 the government changed it from a toll to a charge to keep the revenue stream.

From what I could see last evening the northbound crossing was being diverted around the barriers – presumably because traffic flow was lighter than when I crossed on Saturday morning?

Paul F

I think it is now that the southbound barriers are gone traffic northbound can now be diverted round the barriers in the space previously occupied by the southbound barriers. This will allow the northbound barriers to be removed and then the roads in both direct can be realigned on a straighter path. There will not be the need for as many lanes as there were booths as there is no point in having more lanes than the roads each side.

Very sad, blue skies.