Transport for London has introduced a simple way for drivers to check whether they have to pay Sadiq Khan’s new Silvertown and Blackwall tunnel tolls.
It has expanded the capabilities of the online vehicle checker on the TfL website.
This enables motorists to discover whether they have to pay to drive in London simply by entering their vehicle registration number.
The online checker has already been used by millions of drivers to discover whether their vehicle is liable for the £15 congestion charge in central London or the £12.50 Ulez (ultra-low emission zone) charge that applies across Greater London.
The Silvertown and Blackwall tunnel tolls will go live at 6am on Monday April 7, with car drivers having to pay up to £4 per trip to use either tunnel to travel under the River Thames.
Peak rates will be charged on weekdays between 6am and 10am for vehicles heading northbound, and between 4pm and 7pm for vehicles heading southbound.
Both tunnels, which link south-east and east London, will be charged at the same rate.
At other times of the day and throughout the weekend – tolls are levied between 6am and 10pm throughout the year – the off-peak rate of £1.50 will apply.
However drivers have to register in advance with TfL’s AutoPay system to qualify for the £1.50 rate.
Those who fail to do so will be charged £4 per crossing if using the tunnels at any time during charging hours.
Drivers entering their vehicle registration number into the TfL vehicle checker are advised: “Pay by Auto Pay”.
They are told that the peak charge is £4 and the off-peak charge is £1.50 and that “if you don't have Auto Pay, during charging times:£4.00 per tunnel crossing”
The website advises: “Set up Auto Pay to always pay the lowest charge available for your vehicle and journey, and protect yourself from PCNs.”
AutoPay is already in use for the C-charge and Ulez, with more than 1.3m registered users. Toll levies will be automatically deducted from the driver’s chosen bank account.
However, one failing of the vehicle checker is that it will not be able to show whether drivers are entitled to pay a lower toll rate due to being on low-income benefits, or because they work in a small business.
It will simply display the “default” rate for a vehicle, based on the charge levied for each category of transport by TfL.
Low-income Londoners living in 12 east or south-east London boroughs or the City of London can apply for a 50 per cent discount on the tolls.
They need to be in receipt of a Government benefit such as income support, jobseekers allowance, universal credit, pension credit, child tax credit, working tax credit, carer’s allowance or housing benefit.
This applies to people living in Barking & Dagenham, Bexley, Bromley, City of London, Greenwich, Hackney, Havering, Lewisham, Newham, Redbridge, Southwark, Tower Hamlets or Waltham Forest.
Drivers have been able to pre-register for AutoPay and apply for discounts for the Silvertown and Blackwall tunnels since January 27.
However there has been concern at the low numbers seeking discounts – only about 1,100 applications have been received.
NHS staff and patients will be able to get the charge reimbursed. Drivers with blue badges will be exempt.
Small businesses in Newham, Tower Hamlets and Greenwich can apply for a £1 discount on the off-peak charge for at least a year.
A TfL spokesman said that drivers wanting to check whether they had successfully applied for a discount should log into their “Road User Charging account”.
He said that drivers applying for discounts also had to be registered for TfL Auto Pay.
Drivers who fail to pay the tunnel toll will be fined £180, reduced to £90 if paid within a fortnight. However only one penalty charge notice a day will be issued, regardless of the number of unpaid crossings.
The Silvertown tunnel, which links North Greenwich and the Royal Docks, was built using a PFI (private finance initiative) scheme.
This cost about £1bn for the construction of the tunnel and £1.2bn in loan repayments. TfL needs the income from the toll charges to repay the £2.2bn debt.
About 25,000 to 30,000 vehicles a day are expected to use Silvertown, reducing the 100,000 a day currently using Blackwall, meaning journeys should be quicker and less congested.
Buses using the Silvertown and Blackwall tunnels will be free for at least a year.
These are the SL4 Superloop route between Grove Park and Canary Wharf that will also launch on April 7, the 129 between Great Eastern Quay and Lewisham via the Silvertown tunnel and the 108 between Stratford and Lewisham via the Blackwall tunnel.
A free cycle shuttle bus will also run through the Silvertown tunnel every 12 minutes between 6am and 9pm. Cyclists are not allowed to ride through either tunnel.
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