The Motorcycle Action Group (MAG) has hit out at Transport for London, after the TfL board signed off on new charges for the Silvertown and Blackwall Tunnels under the Thames. The decision means that bikes will pay the same charge as cars – £2.50 peak and £1.50 off-peak – to use the crossings, and MAG says it shows that the interests of London’s bikers have been swept away like rubbish.
At a TfL board meeting in December, the motorcycle charge recommendation was accepted, with objections and comments answered with one statement: “A key objective of the user charges is to manage demand and thereby lock in the benefits of additional capacity and, importantly, manage the effects of traffic on the environment. Like all other vehicles, motorcycles will benefit from the scheme through journey time savings, more reliable journeys, and the increased resilience afforded by the scheme. Motorcycles also contribute to congestion, noise, air pollution, and wear and tear on road surfaces and, therefore, will be subject to user charges.”
MAG points out that responses to TfL’s prior consultation resulted in 3318 responses opposing the propsed charges, 267 which supported them, 271 responses wanting higher charges, and 956 calling for lower charges. It argues that justifications for charging cars and motorcycles are different, and that TfL has not fully considered these differences.
MAG campaigns director Colin Brown said: “This decision casts serious doubt on the credibility of the consultation process. The specific responses to all the detailed arguments made by MAG and others on the proposed motorcycle charges show a complete lack of engagement. They say motorcycles contribute to congestion – they don’t; they help relieve congestion. They say they contribute to air pollution and wear and tear, but no one with a basic grasp of reality can claim they produce the equivalent levels of air pollution or wear and tear as cars. It seems that the decision was signed and sealed before the consultation was launched, and the process is merely a fig leaf to cover the embarrassing truth of how true consultation isn’t happening.”