Drivers will have to pay up to £4 a day to use the Blackwall and Silvertown tunnels, Transport for London (TfL) has confirmed.

The charges are set to come into effect from next spring after the opening of the new tunnel between Silvertown and Greenwich.

It means that for the first time, drivers will have to pay to use the existing Blackwall tunnel, parts of which first opened more than a century ago.

The charges will apply from 6am until 10pm, seven days a week.

During peak times – on weekdays from 6am to 10am northbound and from 4pm to 7pm southbound – car and small van drivers will have to pay £4.

This charge is reduced to £2.50 for motorcycles. At off-peak times, all of these vehicles will be charged £1.50.

But drivers will only qualify for the off-peak rate if they sign up to TfL’s auto-pay scheme. If they do not, they will have to pay the higher fee, regardless of when they travel through the tunnels.

Large vans will pay £2.50 off-peak, and £6.50 for peak times. For HGVs, this off-peak charge doubles to £5, increasing to £10 at peak times.

TfL has said that both tunnels need to be charged at the same rate as their proximity risks there being worse congestion at any uncharged crossing.

Transport bosses expect journey times to be up to 20 minutes quicker at peak times once the Silvertown tunnel opens. An exact date for when drivers can use the tunnel is yet to be confirmed.

Those who do not pay the toll face a £180 fine, reduced to £90 if paid within two weeks.

Low-income residents living in 12 east and south east London boroughs, and the City of London, will be eligible for half price rates.

A cycle-shuttle bus which will carry cyclists between Silvertown and North Greenwich will run between 6.30am and 9.30pm seven days a week, and will be free to use for the first 12 months.

TfL has said that it has largely left proposals for charges at the two tunnels unchanged from when they were first revealed during a public consultation this summer.

The main difference is to the rules around electric vans to ensure they do not risk having to pay more more due to their weight placing them in a higher charge category.

The discount for bin lorries has also been expanded to cover all east London boroughs.