The Government has rejected Sadiq Khan’s plea for help to introduce a discounted toll for some drivers at the Blackwall tunnel.
The mayor wrote to Transport Secretary Mark Harper on Wednesday asking for help to fund a discounted charge for low-income residents of the boroughs nearest the tunnel – Tower Hamlets, Greenwich and Newham.
The twin-bore road tunnel, in east London, is currently free to use but a toll will be imposed from 2025 to help repay the £1.2bn cost of building the nearby Silvertown tunnel, which will also be tolled at the same rate.
The size of the toll will not be announced for another year but Mr Khan said that if the original £4 levy for a peak-hours crossing was increased by inflation, this would take it to £5.25 – meaning more than £10 for a return journey.
Mr Harper responded on Thursday with a letter that amounted to a comprehensive dismissal of the mayor’s request.
In a post on X, Mr Harper said: “Like his Ulez expansion, any decision to raise more money from Londoners by putting tolls on the Blackwall and Silvertown tunnels is a matter for him - and him alone.”
In the accompanying two-page letter, the Transport Secretary suggested that Mr Khan “appeared to be under some confusion” about whether he was required to impose a toll on the Silvertown tunnel.
He said he welcomed the chance to “set the record straight” and told Mr Khan: “I am happy to reassure you this decision lies entirely with you.”
He pointed to the development control order that authorised the construction of Silvertown, which states: “TfL may determine different charges (including a nil charge).”
Mr Harper added: “I note your new-found concern for the impact of the cost of living on drivers. This will be a welcome change for those Londoners who rely on their cars, but, of course, many will already have been taxed off the road following your Ulez charge expansion to outer London.”
He added that the discounts under consideration by the mayor would only benefit low-income drivers in three inner London boroughs – Tower Hamlets, Newham and Greenwich – and none in outer London.
He said that the £6bn in covid bailouts given to TfL did not require Mr Khan to impose a toll on the tunnels.
“A prudent politician would carefully consider options to cut costs and deliver savings before imposing another tax which may mean only the better off can drive in London,” Mr Harper continued.
“I would recommend you consider this course of action in the first instance.
“As with the Ulez, it is your decision to introduce these charges, your decision how to balance your budget… and it is you who must be accountable at the ballot box for the decision to do so.”
Government sources said the letter made clear to the mayor that he had sufficient funds and powers to decide himself whether to offer a toll discount.
Mr Khan’s plea suggested that he was becoming increasingly concerned at the backlash against tolling the Blackwall tunnel – especially after ongoing protests over the Londonwide expansion of the Ulez.
Mr Khan said a toll was needed at both tunnels to repay the Silvertown construction costs, “manage traffic demand” and avoid worsening air pollution.
The Silvertown tunnel is being built under a PFI scheme that was set in train during Boris Johnson’s mayoralty and approved by the Tory government in 2018.
Mr Khan chose to press ahead with the Silvertown plans, in the face of sustained criticism from eco campaigners, when he became mayor in 2016.
The Blackwall tunnels – which link the A2 and A12 - are used by about 100,000 vehicles a day but suffer all-day congestion, particularly the older and narrower northbound tunnel.
Mr Khan, in his initial letter to Mr Harper, had said he had “become increasingly concerned about the impact of introducing a user charge for the Blackwall Tunnel on residents on low incomes living in the neighbouring boroughs”.
