Greenwich to Royal Docks cable car sees sponsorship dropped
The cable car has lost its branding following the withdrawal of IFS.
To give a hint as to how successful their stint of sponsorship was, I had forgotten it in the two minutes between opening up a browser and starting to write this post. It was formerly the Emirates Cable Car.
The cable car will now be snappily named as simply the London Cable Car by TfL with no sponsor adorning the gondolas and website.
TfL continues to state it breaks even but have given up pretending its much use for many commuters and is more a leisure attraction.
Views are fascinating from the cable car covering an ever-changing part of London. Above shows Charlton and then Woolwich and Plumstead behind.
Below shows City Airport with a plane coming in to land. Millennium Mills can be seen.
At £2 a trip if buying a 10-trip ticket (as I do) it’s not bad value at all for regular users. You can stagger those 10 journeys out over a year if you want.
Who knows it may gain more regular users and tourists as attractions either side show no sign of slowing down. In the recent past we’ve seen plans for a theater in Greenwich directly next to the southern terminal. A plan from Secret Cinema to open next door has since emerged.
New homes continue to rise including this tower and the above image was taken from the Cable Car. Areas in the foreground are for those theater and cinema plans. Other homes are completing or starting across the peninsula. Note the blocks on the right above.
All have only just completed with residents now moving in.
North of the Thames
Over the other side a new 233-room boat hotel has just been approved to add to an existing one nearby.
More new homes have just completed nearby on a former car park. Around 7,000 more are approved not too far away.
The Royal Docks also plan major changes across the docks as unveiled in February. There’s loads going on either side.
With that in mind it should have a decent enough future and even attract some commuters living in one of the thousands of homes either side traveling to jobs on the other. It beats the Jubilee line that’s for sure.
Opening
It’s now almost 14 years since it opened under the mayoralty of Boris Johnson.
Now, Johnson made some very short sighted and silly transport decisions as mayor (cutting the DLR extension to Dagenham via Barking Riverside being a prime example) but I can’t find it in me to be that bothered by the Cable Car.
It cost around £60 million but some of that was covered by EU funds. A ten-year £36 million sponsorship from Emirates helped cover operating costs for decade when areas either side were far less built up than now.
Now as each side grows with new homes, jobs and leisure attractions hopefully it can more than pay its way over the coming decade.
And best of all, it’s a fun thing to ride on. And at £2 a pop that’s good with me.
I do remember when it first opened on June 30th 2012 as the Emirates Air-line cable car which lasted for 10 years. Which then it became IFS Cloud cable car for 4 years. I personally do think that TfL should sponsor the cable car and to have its own branding. Or maybe have an international global bank such as Santander, HSBC, Barclays, NatWest etc to sponsor the cable car and branding.
Maybe Transport for London should operate the London Cable Car. Or do you think that another company could sponsor the London cable car and to put their own brand onto the cable car.
Personally I think TFL will try ti find another sponsor for the cable car. If no new sponsor can be found then TFL would need to come up with a new branding for the cable cars and advertising of the cable car service.
I have been on the cable car before since it first opened on 28th June 2012 just before the London Olympics opening ceremony at Stratford. It wouldn’t surprise me if another company or organization was to put their own sponsor and brand onto the cable car.
It could be really useful for cyclists and replace the buses if it ran later until say 11pm and was free for bike users. It also would help given the Woolwich foot tunnel lifts aren’t working in either direction (still)