How to avoid paying the Blackwall and Silvertown tunnel toll: all you need to know about Sadiq Khan's new £4 road charge
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Transport for London has confirmed the tolls for using the Blackwall and Silvertown tunnels under the Thames will start on Monday April 7. But is there a way for drivers to avoid the £4 peak hour charge? Here’s all you need to know about Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan’s latest road charge.
The Silvertown tunnel is immediately east of the Blackwall tunnel in east London. It runs under the Thames, connecting the North Greenwich peninsula in south London with the Silvertown area just 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 Sir Sadiq’s new City Hall.
There are three “price bands”. For most of the time between 6am and 10pm, car drivers will pay £1.50 per crossing. This applies seven days a week. But the charge increases to £4 for northbound journeys between 6am and 10am and southbound journeys 4pm to 7pm on weekdays. Between 10pm and 6am there is no charge.
The charges are exactly the same for the Blackwall tunnel as the Silvertown tunnel: £1.50 at most times, £4 during the two peak periods 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 rush hour and south during the evening peak.
Yes - travel between 10pm and 6am. There are no charges overnight. But if staying up late or getting up early is not possible, the only other way to avoid the toll is to catch a bus through the tunnel or the DLR from and to an adjacent station - these will be free for at least a year after the Silvertown tunnel opens, including the new Superloop bus to and from Canary Wharf. More details are below.
