Transport for London (TfL) have launched their final consultation on proposed Silvertown and Blackwall Tunnel charges. MAG urges riders to respond to the consultation in this last chance for motorcycle exemption.
Motorcyclists who live and ride in London are urged to respond to TfL’s consultation on proposed tunnel charges. The proposals include a £1.50 charge for motorcycles using either tunnel, rising to £2.50 in peak hours.
MAG has been fighting the idea of motorcycle charges for these river crossings since the Silvertown Tunnel proposals were first made in 2012. MAG points to the fact that any charge levied on motorcycles is contradictory to the aims of the Silvertown project, and to the London Mayor’s Transport Strategy.
MAG’s Director of Campaigns & Political Engagement, Colin Brown, said:
“MAG has been alive to and opposing plans to charge motorcycles for using the Silvertown and Blackwall tunnels since the project launched in 2012. Many hours of work have been poured into making logical evidence-based arguments, but all to no avail. We have consistently argued that motorcycles are a transport mode that helps reduce congestion in London and thereby add to the economic health of the city. Crucially, this fact is already recognised in the exemption for motorcycles in the Congestion Charging Zone and is reflected in the Mayor’s Transport Strategy. The proposed charge for motorcycles is illogical and contradicts the established policy that recognises the value of space-efficient transport modes in London.”
Policy 5 of the Mayors Transport Strategy (MTS) states:
‘The Mayor, through TfL and the boroughs, and working with stakeholders, will prioritise space-efficient modes of transport to tackle congestion and improve the efficiency of streets for the movement of people and goods, with the aim of reducing overall traffic levels by 10-15 per cent by 2041.’
Transport for London has recently confirmed that there are no plans to revise or update the Strategy. The MTS, published in 2018, post-dates consultations on the Silvertown project held in 2012, 2014 and 2015, and the six-month public enquiry held in 2017.
MAG is urging all motorcyclists who ride in London to respond to the consultation which closes on 3rd September 2024. The Silvertown tunnel is due to open in 2025 and charges are planned to start for both tunnels at that point. This consultation will be the last opportunity to get common sense applied to this project.
The London Mayor’s Transport Strategy can be found here: https://www.london.gov.uk/programmes-strategies/transport/our-vision-transport/mayors-transport-strategy-2018
The consultation website can be found here: https://haveyoursay.tfl.gov.uk/TC-yourview