Silvertown tunnel cycle bus to be run by Stagecoach

Stagecoach have been revealed as the operator of a forthcoming cycle bus through the Silvertown tunnel.

Cyclists will be banned from the new tunnel and the planned service was the subject of widespread mockery when revealed. Those on bikes will be expected to cycle to a bus stop and then wait before being driven through.

Tunnel Avenue one approach to the peninsula on bike. Various lorries not pictured including from new distribution depot

One of the biggest problems is that cycle routes to the proposed cycle bus stop are often dismal around Greenwich peninsula. It’s fine from the Thames path but coming from, say, east Greenwich?

You can use Tunnel Avenue.

Tunnel Avenue floods, has broken street furniture and paving, poor parking and is a an all-round mess

Not good.

Or head under the flyovers and then across roundabouts.

Cycle routes often appalling

Yep, not good either.

No improvement planned

Both Greenwich Council and Transport for London plan to do nothing anytime soon about these approaches.

A brave cyclist heads to the peninsula from east Greenwich

In recent weeks TfL announced £3 million for public realm improvements as part of Silvertown tunnel funds – but only for an area north of the Thames.

Meanwhile Greenwich have recently approved yet more major housing developments on Greenwich peninsula and conducted an Active Travel Assessment which managed to somehow look at 14 routes and ignore almost all the worst ones. Ta da! No need to allocate any funding for improvements.

There often appears a poor working relationship between TfL and Greenwich to the detriment of the borough. It probably doesn’t help that when TfL request funding for street improvements Greenwich planners fail to agree – as they also do with Network Rail.

Main link between nearly 1,000 new homes in Woolwich. Greenwich didn’t want to fund substantial improvements alongside Network Rail

With Network Rail this was evident at the “One Woolwich” estate rebuild at Morris Wak when NR sought to improve crossings. It was also seen when new homes approved in Woolwich town centre when NR requested funding for accessibility improvements at Woolwich Arsenal station. Greenwich planners refused a penny.

The council didn’t completely refuse TfL when they sought Section 106  funding at a number of projects but the council allocated far less than requested.

One example in Woolwich saw TfL seek £944,000 for public realm work. Greenwich Council planners refused and allocated £150,000.

Greenwich allocated far less than TfL requested

Favoured spend

They stated viability though did manage to allocate far more to their own favoured causes such as GLLaB.

Greenwich also failed to pay their share of Community Infrastructure Levy funding to TfL by the agreed date due to woeful collection rates.

Major reasons for that was setting low rates on development in 2015, failing to revise – as promised – in 2018 and then seeing millions of potential funding slip away to the benefit of developers.

As for the Silvertown tunnel bus, you may have remembered a short-lived version that was built for the Dartford tunnel. The Silvertown bus is only confirmed for three years.

It will be operated using electric buses.

 

 

 

 

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J Smith

I've lived in south east London most of my life growing up in Greenwich borough and working in the area for many years. The site has contributors on occasion and we cover many different topics. Living and working in the area offers an insight into what is happening locally.

    10 thoughts on “Silvertown tunnel cycle bus to be run by Stagecoach

    • Even where Royal Borough of Greenwich and Transport for London work “together” we see poor quality such as the forthcoming Woolwich town centre cycle lane which doesn’t go past the Waterfront due to lack of money so it’s shunted onto sharing existing roads with vehicles and through shopping streets.

      Reply
    • Public realm in Greenwich is really poor as Jeff has rightly said. Both TFL and Greenwich Council need to invest in improving and maintaining public realm.
      Also there are still not enough bus services serving the Silvertown Tunnel when it opens from other parts of the Borough of Greenwich. Many people from the Borough of Bexley also travel through the Borough of Greenwich to use the Tunnels.
      To say a tunnel is public transport friendly with only two bus services serving it. With one being an express route not stopping near the Tunnel entrances is quite an en exgaration from Sadiq Khan

      Reply
      • Only thing he and the local Councils are good for is causing more congestion and making London gridlocked with stationary traffic. All they are concerned with is making people walk cycle and use badly run overcrowded public transport. Tried that over 20 years ago and lost a job because it was useless as a means of transport. Cause even more congestion rather than easing it so they can screw you for more money. TfL have been bailed out numerous times.
        Unless people get pay increases, those who have to travel from one side to the other for work by their own vehicle are throughly £1,700+ worse off. (Based on £4.00 each way over 11 months)

        Reply
    • Have you ever done any digging into GLLab? Whenever I google it I get nothing. What on earth is all the money spent on?

      Reply
      • Hi Nick this is a very interesting question. Where does all the money from GLLab go? Surely Cllr Matt Hartley should be looking into this!

        Reply
    • We would all like to know that Nick..
      I agree with all the above comments.
      I certainly agree more bus services should be using the Silvertown Tunnel from across South East and East London. I also think another single decker bus service could serve the Blackwall Tunnel alongside route 108 between Lewwsham and Stratford
      Possibly sweving areas like Thamesmead Woolwich Charlton or Eltham. Now drivers are due to face tunnel toll charges on top or ULEZ charges from 2025.

      Reply
    • I will be interested to see how many cyclists actually use the dedicated bus, and how much it is costing.

      My expectation is it will be highly underutilised.

      Reply
      • Put a full height turnstile on the Foot Tunnel and usage will go up. Less convenient for cyclists, but that’s what needs to happen when only a small minority of bike users follow the rules.

        Reply
        • I received a good suggestion for the cycle bus today. Rather than running to a timetable it should set off only when full of cyclists!

          How many buses a day would that mean?

          As far as the foot tunnel goes the esteemed online cycling rag “Road.cc” carried an article lamenting the fact that cyclists have to lug their bikes up the stairs, as the lifts have failed on the Newham side and never get repaired.

          They have conveniently forgotten that cycling is illegal in that tunnel though! Barriers needed, not the Deliveroo bikes!

          Reply
    • @James Burdass: ‘They have conveniently forgotten that cycling is illegal in that tunnel …’. Why on earth would anyone want to cycle through a tunnel filled with exhaust fumes? What am I missing?

      Reply

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