London’s new Silvertown cycle shuttle service will be FOC for 1 year

Now mere weeks from opening, London’s Silvertown Tunnel, designed to alleviate the strain on the Blackwall Tunnel, will include a free-to-use cycle shuttle service (FOC for at least a year), with Transport for London (TfL) revealing more details.

This new crossing for the Thames has not been without controversy – naysayers have questioned the case for its construction which will not cut pollution or – it is argued by some – congestion. Nevertheless, London’s Silvertown cycle shuttle service is a new piece of cycle infrastructure. Just not in the usual vein.

Building on previous details, we now know that the Silvertown cycle shuttle service will run from 7 April 2025, operating every 12 minutes from 06:30 to 21:30, and be free to use for at least the first year. Electric bikes will be permitted to use the service.

The service will carry a variety of standard and non-standard cycles, and will have two stops, one on each side of the river, with the ‘north’ stop located on Seagull Lane close to Royal Victoria DLR station, and the ‘south’ stop located on Millennium Way near the junction with Old School Close.

Pedestrians travelling without a cycle will not be permitted to use the service but TfL promises other improved cross-river bus services launching with the opening of the Silvertown Tunnel, including the new SL4 Superloop route.

The service has been designed to carry a range of cycle designs, including pedal cycles, tricycles, folded cycles, adaptive cycles and cargo cycles. In order to ensure safety and accessibility for all passengers, all cycles conveyed on the service should be no longer than 2.14 metres, no wider than 0.76m and no higher than 1.4m at the handlebar, and weigh less than 300kg including rider and any property carried by the cycle, said TfL.

E-bikes, as well as Santander Cycles and third-party hire bikes or e-bikes, will also be allowed to use the service.

Unlike other cross-river cycle options such as the Dartford Crossing, this service has been designed to be provide much greater capacity and convenience for multiple cycles and with the high frequency of the service, cyclists will be able to plan their routes more flexibly.

Inside, the shuttle bus will have two separate bays for cycle storage. Each bay can hold up to four standard cycles, with one bay prioritised for non-standard cycles. Folding cycles, luggage and equipment can also be stored in dedicated luggage racks.

The bus will lower itself towards the kerb at stops to assist customers with boarding and a ramp can also be deployed to ensure step-free boarding. As with all TfL bus operations, drivers will not be able to provide physical assistance to passengers, including getting cycles off and on the service.

The layout of the bus has undergone testing to ensure that it not only allows the widest range of cycles to be able to use the service, but also complies with vehicle guidelines from the DVSA. TfL will continue to seek customer feedback to ensure that the service operates efficiently for customers, consider what improvements are possible as the service develops, as well as share learnings with other transport bodies in case they wish to replicate its design to support cyclists in their cities and towns.

Lorna Murphy, Director of Buses at TfL, said: “We’re pleased to share the final details of our innovative cycle-shuttle service, which will provide important cross river connectivity for a range of cyclists through the Silvertown Tunnel. This free service will help people cycling in east London cross the river safely and encourage more active travel across the area. We have designed this service to support as many different cycle designs as possible within the physical space available, and we look forward to seeing Londoners using it once the Silvertown Tunnel opens on 7 April.”

Paul Lynch, Managing Director of Stagecoach London, said: “We’ve been busy getting the buses and drivers ready for this new service and we’re looking forward to welcoming customers with their bikes on board. This new bus service simply means that cyclists can also benefit from the important new transport link under the river, and we’re pleased to be entrusted with providing it by TfL.”

The 1.4km Silvertown Tunnel will link Newham to the Greenwich Peninsula and, supported by the new user charges, will make journeys faster and more reliable, according to TfL, with average journey time savings expected to be up to 20 minutes at peak times. The tunnel is also located in the Ultra Low Emission Zone and will also support economic growth and allow TfL to increase the number of buses able to cross the river in this area from six to 21 buses an hour in each direction during the busiest times – all of which will be zero emission at the tailpipe, it added.

“As first proposed in 2012 and required as part of the development consent for the new tunnel, a user charge will be introduced for those using the Silvertown and Blackwall tunnels between 06:00 and 22:00, seven days a week from 7 April 2025. The proximity of the two tunnels has meant that, ever since the plans were first conceived, both need to be charged to ensure that traffic levels do not increase as a result of drivers seeking to use the uncharged crossing.”