Thames Clippers to return on 15 June

After months without service Thames Clippers will recommence river routes on 15th June. Services from Woolwich will run every 20 minutes at peak times and 30 minutes off-peak. No services will operate from just after 11am to nearly 5pm.

Social distancing will be in place – which raises a few questions. Thames Clippers are not part of TfL services and are run on a commercial basis. How profitable will running boats with few passengers be – and how long can it be maintained?

The company state:

“New safety and social distancing measures are being introduced at piers and on board the vessels, as well as an enhanced cleaning regime.”

“At peak times pre-coronavirus, Thames Clippers carried 1.4 passengers per square metre. With the new social distancing measures in place, this is reduced to just 0.85 passengers per square metre. For context, ordinarily, there were 5-7 people per square metre on the London Underground and with its current social distancing measures, TfL has managed to reduce this to around 1.3 passengers per square metre.”