Tories say Sadiq Khan is 'waging war on motorists' to plug '£15bn black hole in TfL's finances' ' ; Photo: DANNY LAWSON/PA
Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, has been accused of plugging a “black hole in Transport for London's (TfL) finances” with a new £123 million raid on motorists.
< p> The mayor's office said it expects TfL to make a nine-figure sum from tolls on two rows of London tunnels, a further blow for drivers following the Ulez expansion last year.
TfL, chaired by the mayor, announced that from 2025 it would charge motorists to use the previously free Blackwall Tunnel and the new £2bn Silvertown Tunnel.
In October it emerged that Mr Khan had proposed building Blackwall. the fare is £5.25 and return travel costs £10.50. TfL insists that charge levels have not yet been decided.
The body said charges for both tunnels were needed to ensure traffic was not drawn disproportionately to one of them, meaning charges in both tunnels should be the same.< /p>
The town hall has now said it expects TfL to raise £123 million from fees and fines in the first year of the new Silvertown Tunnel opening.
These fees will be used to cover the cost of building the Silvertown Tunnel, which will be paid for by TfL after commissioning, and all remaining balances are reinvested in the transport system.
Sadiq Khan previously proposed setting the Blackwall toll at £5.25. Photo: Yui Mok/PA
London Conservatives have accused the mayor of “waging war on motorists” to plug a “£15bn black hole in TfL's finances”, but a source close to Mr Khan said the fee Blackwall Tunnel fees were the brainchild of Boris Johnson. /p>
A preliminary report on the Silvertown Tunnel scheme, published by the City Hall and TfL in October 2015, when Mr Johnson was mayor, proposed tolls on both crossings.
The £123 million figure was revealed in response to London Conservatives asking the mayor about financial forecasts for revenue from new tolls at the Blackwall and Silvertown tunnels.
The town hall said: “Projected income for the first full financial year of the tunnel's operation will be £123 million. This includes income from both tolling fees and fines. Revenue from user fees is expected to fund the construction and maintenance costs of the new tunnels, which are being privately financed by the Riverlinx consortium.
“Any surplus remaining after these deductions will be reinvested into the transport network. Once user charge levels are set, TfL will update these revenue forecasts.”
“Waging war on motorists”
Keith Prince, the Conservatives' transport spokesman, said: “Sadiq Khan is waging a war on motorists.” to plug a £15 billion black hole in TfL's finances. Motorists will pay TfL almost £1 billion in road tolls this year, including unfair charges against Ulez in the London suburbs.
“Sadiq Khan now plans to make millions more for TfL by charging tolls at the Blackwall and Silvertown tunnels. He must be transparent about how much motorists will pay to use these tunnels and how much of the tolls will be used to support TfL's finances.”
A source close to Mr Khan said: “This is complete hypocrisy.” . from Tori. The Blackwall Tunnel toll is the brainchild of Boris Johnson, agreed with central government. Tolls are proposed for travel through the Government-owned Lower Thames Tunnel.
“Sadiq has made it clear that no decision has been made about charging Boris Johnson, but he wants to do much more to support local people. Although Johnson's fare plans had no impact on local residents, Sadiq asked TfL to leave and work on a significant range of discounts for people living in the area.”
Charge levels have yet to be agreed
A TfL spokesman stated: “The purpose of introducing tolls for the Silvertown and Blackwall Tunnel is to effectively manage traffic and achieve the expected environmental and economic benefits.
” This was first proposed in 2012 and forms part of the planning consent for the Silvertown Tunnel and was officially approved by government ministers in 2018. Planning consent requires TfL to manage traffic levels and environmental impacts, and introducing these charges has been a long-standing way of meeting planning requirements.
“The level of user charges has not yet been agreed and TfL is working on recruitment proposals discounts for people with low incomes in the region. These will be confirmed closer to the tunnel's opening date in 2025.”
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