The cycle shuttle bus for the Silvertown Tunnel could carry foot passengers in the future, according to Transport for London. 

Last week TfL released a glowing report into the progress of the new tunnel one year after it opened, saying that it had broadly reduced traffic congestion and that pollution levels had also fallen.

The report also dealt with the progress of the cycle shuttle, which TfL has to run until April 2028 as part of the development consent order that gave permission for the tunnel to be built. 

A cycle shuttle has been part of the scheme since Sir Sadiq Khan, the mayor, gave his backing to the crossing a decade ago. The service is currently free to use.

But while the specially-adapted buses run from 6.30am to 9.30pm every day, only between 100-130 journeys are made on each weekday. The buses have run every 12 minutes since the tunnel opened in April last year.

“To maximise the opportunities provided by the cycle shuttle service, we are currently exploring the opportunity to allow pedestrians to use the service,” TfL says in the report.

Since plans for the tunnel were first announced by Boris Johnson in 2012, opponents had long criticised the fact that no provision had been made for bikes. 

Sign showing direction around a roundabout to cycle shuttle bus
The southern cycle shuttle stop is in an awkward location. Image: The Greenwich Wire

Khan’s inclusion of the shuttle bus was meant to answer critics, but while the pick-up point on the north side of the river is in a high-profile location between City Hall and Royal Victoria DLR station, the stop on the south side is at an awkward point close to a busy roundabout with little provision for cyclists. 

But the shuttle bus is more popular with cyclists than the London Cable Car: just nine riders used the gondolas in a sample week in June last year, down from 20 the previous year. 

The shuttle also carries broadly similar numbers to the Woolwich Ferry, which carried 158 cycles in the same week, up from 119 the previous year. 

Over 1,300 used the Greenwich Foot Tunnel – but that was down from 1,600 the previous year with the northern lift being broken. Over 5,000 cycle rides were made over Tower Bridge.

A total of 267 cycle trips used the Woolwich Foot Tunnel – which was also suffering from lift problems – while an intrepid 499 braved the Rotherhithe Tunnel.

The full 12-month monitoring report is on the TfL website.

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