Pam Manwaring, a director of Orchard Garage in Dartford, said customers still complained and people living near the London boundary had few alternatives to driving.
She said the garage, outside the Ulez zone, saw a boost initially because people didn’t want to pay the charge, but three years on, it had “levelled out”.
Manwaring said people in Dartford were paying the charge but not benefitting from the clean air that it was supposed to bring, adding: “The Dartford tunnel and the crossing is an absolute nightmare. The traffic is getting worse, it’s bad every day, so we get even more pollution and we get the congestion.”
She said poor public transport remained a concern, adding: “You haven’t got an option around here, people have to use their cars.”
