Sunday, May 30, 2021
I see the ferry between Canary Wharf and the Doubletree hotel in Rotherhithe is running again. It's also one of London's worst value fares, costing £4.60 for a 220 metre journey. Even Leicester Square to Covent Garden is longer than that, not to mention two quid cheaper.
So I wondered, how much does it cost to cross the Thames downstream of central London.
(maps are in a previous post here)
| | cycle/walk | train/bus | vehicle |
| Tower Bridge | free | unnecessary | free |
| Overground | - | £1.50 | - |
| Rotherhithe Tunnel | not advised | - | free |
| Jubilee line | - | £1.50 | - |
| Doubletree ferry | £4.60 | - | - |
| DLR | - | £1.50 | - |
| Greenwich Foot Tunnel | free | - | - |
| Blackwall Tunnel | - | £1.55 | free* |
| Jubilee line | - | £1.50 | - |
| Silvertown Tunnel | - | from 2025 | from 2025* |
| Dangleway | £4.00 | - | - |
| Jubilee line | - | £1.50 | - |
| Woolwich Ferry | free | - | free |
| Woolwich Foot Tunnel | free | - | - |
| Crossrail | - | from 2022 | - |
| DLR | - | £1.60 | - |
| QE2 Crossing | bikes free | £3.10 | £2.50 |
| Tilbury Ferry | £4.00 | - | - |
| High Speed One | - | £18.30 | - |
* tolled from 2025
» For pedestrians and cyclists there are free crossings in Greenwich and Woolwich, hurrah, but to cross the river from Canary Wharf or North Greenwich costs at least £4.
» It is possible to zigzag across the river on a Thames Clipper, but that's also £4.60.
» Bus and rail crossings cost £1.50-£1.60 within London, but double that if you venture down to Dartford. High Speed One is impractically expensive for a ten minute train journey.
» Drivers can cross for free within London, at least for now, but tolls will be introduced through the Blackwall and Silvertown Tunnels when the latter finally opens.
By far the most expensive East London crossings are for those on foot and those with bikes, namely the Doubletree Ferry and the Dangleway. There were plans for a footbridge across the Thames to replace the former, which would have been free, but lack of funding means an upgraded ferry is the best we can expect. A decent boost for walking and cycling would be to make these two crossings free, or at least to bring the price down, to help knit the two sides of the Thames together.
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