The latest financial drain on the nation's drivers is set to come into force tomorrow (1 September) when the Government hikes the Dart Charge in Kent by a staggering 40 per cent. 

The move - announced in June - has been dubbed a blatant 'revenue raiser' at the expense of 'easy target' motorists who have already been treated like a cash cow for more than two decades.

The last time the Dart Charge was hiked was in 2014. But ministers claim it needs to increase again to encourage drivers to take alternative routes to reduce congestion levels.

Announcing the increase, Lilian Greenwood, Parliamentary under-Secretary at the Department for Transport, claimed raising one-off payments from £2.50 to £3.50 for cars, motorhomes and small minibuses is a decision purely aimed to 'manage traffic'.

All other road users will also see a 40 per cent hike, with coaches and vans levied £4.20 - up from £3 - and lorries facing an increase from £6 to £8.40. Motorcycles, moped and quad bikes will still be able to use the route free of charge.

The crossing, which is made up of the Queen Elizabeth II bridge travelling southbound and the two Dartford Tunnels when heading north, connects Thurrock in Essex with Dartford in Kent and is used by more than 150,000 vehicles per day on average.

AA President Edmund King says toll payments to use the crossing to cover the 1991 construction of the bridge should have paid it off back in 2003, but the Dart Charge has been retained as a 'nice little earner which raised tens of millions of pounds every year'.

Drivers have been required to pay to use the Dartford Crossing since the first tunnel opened in 1963.

At the time, this was two shillings and sixpence in a bid to cover the cost of its construction under the Thames.

Motorists continued to pay at tollbooths until the introduction of the online Dart Charge system in late 2014, which was designed to 'make journeys smoother'. A price hike was implemented at the time to 'help manage increased demand'.

However, ministers claim that in the 11 years since the previous price increase, usage of the crossing has grown by 7.5 per cent.

With up to 180,000 vehicles using the crossing on the busiest days, Ms Greenwood attempted to defend the hike, saying traffic levels during peak times are 'well in excess of the crossing's design capacity'.

She suggested this has 'caused delays for drivers using the crossing, congestion and journey disruption to drivers on the M25 and a range of knock-on impacts for local communities'.

Local residents who currently pay £20 a year to use the Dartford Crossing as many times as they want will now have to pay £25.

Journeys made between the hours of 10pm and 6am will continue to be free.

Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said Greenwood's claim that a 40 per cent increase to the charge is solely to manage traffic flow has 'raised more than a few eyebrows, given that those making the crossing have little alternative but to do so'. 

He added: 'Most people will, understandably, and probably rightly, see this move as nothing else but a revenue raiser.'

The AA's Edmund King commented: 'Long-distance travellers from the UK and Europe, freight, business and regional users have all been sold down the river by successive governments through the unnecessary perpetuation of tolls and lack of future capacity at Dartford.

'Tolling was supposed to pay for the Dartford Bridge and then end, which would have been in 2003.

'However, it became a nice little earner which raised tens of millions of pounds every year.

'Ramping up the tolls by an extra pound, when the majority of users have no alternative about the time and place they cross the Thames, is simply road charging and a bridge too far.'

James Barwise, policy lead at the Road Haulage Association (RHA), said: 'Dartford remains the only practical Thames crossing for HGVs and coaches in the South East.

'It's therefore regrettable that the charge increase has been so significant.

'This adds to running costs at an already financially challenging time for many businesses in our sector (HGVs, coaches and vans) and ultimately pushes up prices for consumers.'

A brief history of Dartford Crossing

The trunk road crossing opened in three stages.

The first west tunnel was completed in 1963 and - to cope with increasing traffic volumes - the east tunnel was built in 1980.

The two tunnels are 1,430 metres long.

The Queen Elizabeth Bridge was opened to traffic on 30 October 1991 to the tune of £120million. This included £30million to lay the approach roads. 

In 1999, the Government announced that tolling would end in 2003 - the date it estimated the bridge would be paid off.

But it U-turned on this decision just two years later, citing that making the crossing free of charge would create more traffic.