Better welfare for disrupted road users in Dover

06 January 2023

Transport Focus welcomes news that the Government has signed a contract with disaster response charity RE: ACT to provide food and water to people stuck in traffic on the approach to the Port of Dover and Channel Tunnel. RE: ACT will be deployed if there are delays of longer than two days. 

Transport Focus has taken a keen interest in the welfare of drivers and their passengers stuck in long queues in Kent, including those in 2015, 2020 and just last year. We have been speaking to National Highways and the Kent Resilience Forum to highlight the importance of food, water and toilet facilities being deployed swiftly when road users need them. 

We welcome this move to provide vital supplies in times of severe disruption. Although the Operation Brock contraflow will be removed this coming weekend following the festive period, we will continue our work to maintain focus on road users’ interests should there be disruption in the future.

Welfare (water, food, toilets) are key, as is better information for those already stuck in queues in Kent as well as those further away. The latter is all about providing good information that allows people to make informed decisions, and at the very least arrive in Kent knowing what they are about to experience.