How to avoid paying the Blackwall and Silvertown tunnel tolls

But is there a way for drivers to avoid the £4 peak charge? Here’s everything you need to know about Mayor Sadiq Khan’s latest road charge.

The Silvertown Tunnel is immediately east of the Blackwall Tunnel in East London. It runs under the Thames and connects the North Greenwich Peninsula in South London with the Silvertown area west of the Royal Docks in East London. Its southern end is immediately adjacent to the Blackwall Tunnel, while its northern end is only about 100 yards west of London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s new town hall.

There are three “price bands”. For most of the time between 6am and 10pm, car drivers pay £1.50 to cross. This applies seven days a week. However, the charge increases to £4 for northbound journeys between 6am and 10am and southbound journeys between 4pm and 7pm on weekdays. There is no charge between 22:00 and 06:00.

Charges are exactly the same for the Blackwall Tunnel as for the Silvertown Tunnel: £1.50 most times, £4 during the two peak times and free between 10pm and 6am.

It will cost £8 a day for drivers heading north through the Blackwall or Silvertown tunnel during the morning peak and south during the evening peak.

The Dartford crossing (on the M25) costs car drivers £2.50 per crossing. The slip is £12.50 per day, while the congestion charge is £15 – both for unlimited journeys.

The Silvertown Tunnel was built using a PFI (Private Finance Initiative) scheme – about £1 billion to build the tunnel and £1.2 billion in loan repayments. Transport for London needs toll revenue to pay off its £2.2bn debt.

TfL says that if charges were imposed for just one tunnel, then no drivers would use it – and everyone would continue to use the second (free) crossing. This would defeat the purpose of building Silvertown, which is to reduce delays, congestion and pollution in Blackwall by effectively halving the cost.

Yes. This is crucial. All motorists must register their vehicle(s) with the TfL Auto Pay system, which is already used for tolls and Ulez (ultra-low emission zone). TfL already has about 1.3 million vehicles registered. This means that the toll is automatically charged to the driver’s debit or credit card. Drivers who do not sign up to Auto Pay will be charged £4 during the charging period.

Motorcyclists pay £2.50 peak and £1.50 off-peak. Transit-sized vans will pay the same as cars. Large deliveries will pay £6.50 peak and £2.50 off-peak. Trucks pay £10 peak and £5 off-peak.

Tolls for both tunnels will be imposed from Spring 2025, when the Silvertown Tunnel opens to traffic. The exact date has not yet been announced. The tunnel is opening slightly ahead of schedule – it was not expected to open until the summer of 2025. The whole project – first mooted in 2012 when Boris Johnson was mayor – is about four years behind schedule.

About 100,000 vehicles use the Blackwall Tunnel every day. Around half the traffic is expected to be diverted to the Silvertown Tunnel.

In a bid to lure Londoners out of their cars, journeys across the river on the 108 or 129 bus – plus the new Superloop SL4 route through the Silvertown Tunnel, linking Grove Park and Canary Wharf from next year – will be free for at least a year. a year for journeys that start in Newham, Tower Hamlets or Greenwich.

Yes. DLR trips in the immediate vicinity of the tunnels – for example between Cutty Sark and Island Gardens or Woolwich Arsenal and King George V – will be free for at least a year.

A fine of £180 will be imposed, which will be reduced to £90 if paid within a fortnight. However, only one penalty notice will be issued per day, regardless of the number of unpaid tolls.

Yes. Low-income Londoners living in 12 boroughs of east or south-east London, including Newham, Tower Hamlets and Greenwich, or in the City of London, can claim a 50 per cent discount. NHS staff and patients will be able to get a refund. Drivers with blue badges will be exempt.