What's else is new this week in the world of London transport?
The Silvertown Tunnel is a success unless it isn't
TfL plan to release detailed data reports on how the Silvertown Tunnel's doing every three months and the first report is just out. Here are ten things I noticed.
» Since the Silvertown Tunnel opened fewer vehicles are crossing the river, down from 96,400 through one tunnel to 91,000 through two tunnels. That's tolls for you.
» Weekday traffic using the Rotherhithe Tunnel is up 10% and using the Woolwich Ferry up 36%.
» HGV crossings at Tower Bridge have reduced by 12% and on the Woolwich Ferry by 25%.
» Unplanned closures of the Blackwall Tunnel are down by 39%, they suspect because overheight vehicles are using the Silvertown Tunnel instead.
» Two-thirds of vehicles paying to go through the tunnels are cars and a quarter are large vans.
» Average speeds on the approach to the northbound to the Blackwall Tunnel were 9mph in March 2025 and are now 30mph.
» Passenger numbers on route 129 have increased by 80%, which isn't surprising given it now goes 60% further and is suddenly free.
» The SL4 sees around 6700 passengers on an average weekday. That's about 25 passengers per bus, not all of whom are going through the tunnel.
» Between the three routes 108, 129 and SL4, about 7000 passengers cross the river daily. It used to be 2600 when it was just the 108.
» 125-130 cyclists use the cycle shuttle on a typical day which, as I've said before, is about one bike per bus. Graph here.
If you're a "microinfluencer", look out for TfL trying to collaborate with you to promote the cycle shuttle service.
If you'd like to see a more detailed analysis, do read the report yourself.
London's Next Dead Bus
The consultation on Superloop route SL11 (North Greenwich to Abbey Wood) is complete and the new route will be going ahead as planned. Introduction is expected "in early 2026", although at the same time the 472 bus will be extinguished, a route currently used by 6 million passengers annually. It's the first time a new Superloop route has killed off another route entirely.
The SL11 will essentially be the 472 with a half-white vehicle and 25 stops missing. If you normally wait for the 472 at one of those 25 deleted stops you'll still be able to catch buses on other routes but not as often. If you normally wait at one of the retained stops you'll probably get to where you're going quicker so you're a winner.
The consultation report essentially says "Thanks but we're going to do things exactly as we proposed in March". I wrote a post in March listing several reasons why the new SL11 wouldn't necessarily be great for everyone, and those reasons still stand. The bad things include running for 2 miles between Charlton and Woolwich Arsenal without stopping, and deviating all the way round East Thamesmead but only stopping once.
London's Next Dead Bus
A new bus consultation has been launched in the Shepherd's Bush area. The plan is to merge the 72 and 283, following the 283 route but calling it 72. The consultation would be a lot easier to understand if TfL used the word 'renumber' but they haven't, they've used 'withdraw' and 'reroute' instead.
The 72 and 283 are both runty routes that operate between East Acton and Hammersmith, a distance of four miles. They used to run much further across Hammersmith Bridge but that's been closed to traffic since 2019 and it seems TfL have finally decided to bite the bullet and scrap one of them. Cutting the total number of vehicles will ensure a tidy saving.
The 72 currently runs the quick way via Westfield and continues to a lacklustre layby on the approach to Hammersmith Bridge. The 283 currently runs the slow way via Loftus Road stadium and the Uxbridge Road and terminates at Hammersmith bus station. The newly merged route will take everyone the slow way, annoying anyone wanting to go from Hammersmith to Hammersmith Hospital, then continue as far as the bridge. Technically the dead bus is the 72 but TfL intend to pretend the dead bus is the 283 because we're playing that game again.
London's Next Dead Bus
The 472 and 283 aren't really London's next dead bus because they won't be disappearing until 2026. The real next dead bus is the 84B because this dies at the end of next month.
The 84B was introduced in 2023 to replace the Barnet to Potters Bar leg of the 84 which was withdrawn in 2022. The 84B is itself to be withdrawn on August 31st and replaced by the 243, a new hourly route linking Barnet to Hatfield. Oyster cards will not be accepted on the 243, just as they weren't on the 84B because neither are TfL buses. For people who like to know about operators, the previous 84 was run by Metroline, the shortened 84 by Sullivan Buses, the current 84B by Central Connect and the future 243 by Uno.
A weekend in Unlondon
Greater Anglia have launched a new weekend return ticket called a Weekender, especially for Londoners planning a weekend away in East Anglia. You have to depart on a Friday (after 9.30am) or a Saturday, then return any time on Saturday, Sunday or Monday. There's no need to specify a particular train, also you can buy it at the ticket office as well as online. It's only available for journeys starting at Liverpool Street, Stratford or Tottenham Hale, not for East Anglians coming the other way.
To coincide with the launch Greater Anglia have fired up a marketing campaign called UNLONDON (you might have seen posters on the tube) pointing out that lots of places in East Anglia are not like places in London. Thus far the #unlondon hashtag has not been a great success on social media, although I did find a couple of obviously-sponsored minute-longpuffvids on TikTok.
I checked a few return journeys and essentially you're getting about 20% off, this on top of any Railcard savings. It's still much cheaper to specify a train out and a train back, but if you don't want to tie yourself down a Weekender ticket is ideal.
Travel-based clickbait
The wordspewers at Secret London continue to publish clickbait headlines pointing out that interesting-sounding things aren't necessarily very far from London. To save you clicking, here's this week's selection.
• This Picturesque Medieval Town Is Just An Hour Away From London – With Charming Cobbled Streets And Buildings Right Out Of Fairytales (it's Rye in Sussex)
• Two Charming English Countryside Towns Are Finally Getting Train Stations Again – And They’re Perfect For A Weekend Escape From London (they're Cullompton in Devon and Wellington in Somerset)
• Meet And Feed Highland Cows At This Charming Farm Experience That’s Less Than Two Hours Away From London (it's up a farm track in fields north of Royston in Cambs)
• The UK Is Home To The Oldest Original Model Village In The World – And It’s Only A 30 Minute Train Ride From Central London (it's Bekonscot in Bucks)
• This Gorgeous Wine Route Nestled Within An Area Of Outstanding Natural Beauty Features Five Vineyards – And It’s Only A Stone’s Throw From London (it's the Surrey Hills in Surrey)
• The Most Walkable City In The World Is Filled With History, Culture And Unbelievably Delicious Food – And You Can Fly There From London For Less Than £50 (it's Rome in Italy)
• This Stunning English Coastal Town Has A Medieval Fortress Known As The ‘Key To England’, Secret Tunnels And Iconic White Cliffs – And It’s Only 2 Hours From London (it's Dover in Kent, obviously) (and it's Only 1 Hour From London if you do your research properly)
