Sir Sadiq Khan has been urged to scrap a "bonkers" cycle shuttle service that critics say "almost nobody" is using. The Silvertown Tunnel, which opened last year in east London, includes a shuttle bus for cyclists between the Greenwich Peninsula and Royal Victoria station. The service costs £2 million a year to run, a figure that has drawn sharp criticism.
Critics call for cancellation
Reform UK London Assembly Member Alex Wilson has called on the Mayor of London, who also chairs Transport for London (TfL), to end the service. Wilson told The Express: "Under the word 'waste' in the dictionary should be a photograph of the Silvertown Cycle Shuttle. The GLA funnels £2million per year into it, which equates to an eye-watering £43 per passenger. Sadiq Khan and TfL know about how bonkers this scheme is because I regularly remind them. It’s high time it was cancelled for good."
The shuttle bus costs £5,000 a day and often runs with no one onboard, carrying as few as 51 cyclists per day, according to MyLondon. This amounts to over £100 per passenger on some days.
TfL defends the service
TfL is required to run the service until 2028 under conditions from the Department for Transport (DfT). A TfL spokesperson said: "The cycle shuttle offers a safe and convenient way for cyclists to cross the river between Silvertown and North Greenwich. Cyclists have already made thousands of journeys using this new free service, which transports around 100-130 cyclists across the river on a typical weekday - similar to the number of cyclists who use the Woolwich Ferry and significantly higher than the London Cable Car."
TfL reports that between 100 and 130 trips were made every weekday from April to October 2025, with an expected dip in demand over the winter in January 2026 due to poor cycling weather. Officials are currently exploring allowing pedestrians to use the service.
Mayor's previous comments
In July last year, Sir Sadiq said: "As has been widely reported, cycling is not possible through the Silvertown Tunnel and therefore Transport for London (TfL) has provided a Cycle Shuttle Service to safely allow cyclists to cross the river at this location. The Silvertown Tunnel Cycle Shuttle has been operating for three months and I’m pleased to see steady use and TfL receiving some positive feedback so far. TfL continues to raise awareness and promote the service through its marketing campaigns, we hope that as people become more aware of the service and how they can incorporate it into their journeys, more cyclists will use this service. The Silvertown Tunnel Cycle Shuttle responds to a Development Consent Order planning condition. TfL has committed to keeping it under review over the longer-term to ensure that this innovative new service can develop as TfL learn how customers use it."
The Express contacted Sir Sadiq for comment on the latest criticism.
