Thames Clippers

Infobox London River Services
title= Thames Clippers


image_size =300
image_caption = Thames Clippers logo
operator = Thames Clipper
vessels =
piers_served =
length_km = 0.4km
length_miles =
transit_type = River bus and tourist/leisure services
began_operation = 1999
ended_operation =
lines = 4
vessels = 13
terminals = 12
ridership =
owner =Anschutz Entertainment Group
website=http://www.thamesclippers.com

Thames Clipper is a water-bus service operating in London on the River Thames. The company offers commuter services between eastern and central London, as well as tourist services under licence from London River Services. At present they transport around 2500 passengers daily.

Company

Thames Clippers was taken over in September 2006 by the American Anschutz Entertainment Group [cite web
url = http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2006/09/21/cnferry21.xml
title = Dome chief joins Thames taxi race
accessdate = 2008-03-29
author = Christopher Hope, Industry Editor
date = 2006-09-21
work = Daily Telegraph] , who promised substantial investment into the company to upgrade the services and to provide a more frequent "hop-on-hop-off" between Central London and The O₂ (formerly the Millennium Dome), also owned by the Anschutz Entertainment Group.

Tickets

Thames Clippers operate under licence from Transport for London. However, the river boat service is not fully integrated into the tube and bus ticketing network though passengers holding a valid travelcard pay a reduced fare (2/3 of the ticketed price) on all routes.

A River Roamer ticket, valid for one day, is available from Thames Clipper which allows the holder to hop on and hop off along the banks of the Thames between Millbank Millennium Pier and Canary Wharf Pier (including the Canary Wharf - Rotherhithe Ferry). The cost is £8.00 for an adult and £18.00 for a family. [cite web
url=http://www.thamesclippers.com/fares/
title=Thames Clippers fares
author=Thames Clippers
accessdate=2008-04-01]

Special river service season tickets, valid for either 3 months or 1 year, are also available.

Commuter services

Main commuter service

Commuter service is between Embankment Pier (on the north side of the river by Embankment tube station and Charing Cross tube and railway stations) and the Woolwich Arsenal Pier (on the south side of the river in Woolwich. The service runs every 15 minutes during the day, and every 30 minutes in the very early morning and evenings.

imagestack
Stops include from west to east:
* Embankment Pier, near Embankment tube station
* Waterloo Pier, near Waterloo tube station
* Blackfriars Millennium Pier, "(Weekdays only)" for St Paul's Cathedral and Blackfriars station
* Bankside Pier, "(Off-peak only)" for the Globe Theatre and Tate Modern art gallery
* London Bridge City Pier, for London Bridge station, HMS Belfast and the London Dungeon
* Tower Millennium Pier, for St Katharine Docks and the Tower of London
* Canary Wharf Pier, for the Canary Wharf financial district
* Greenland Dock Pier, for Greenland Dock
* Masthouse Terrace Pier
* Greenwich Pier, for Greenwich, the Cutty Sark and the National Maritime Museum
* QEII Pier
* Woolwich Arsenal Pier "(Direct service mornings only, shuttle to/from QEII Pier at other times)"

Hilton / Canary Wharf ferry

Thames Clippers operates the direct cross river Canary Wharf - Rotherhithe Ferry, between Canary Wharf Pier and the Hilton Docklands Nelson Dock Pier at the Hilton Hotel in Rotherhithe. The service uses smaller boats than the commuter service but runs at a higher frequency of roughly every 10 minutes. The ferry can be used both by guests of the hotel as well as by passengers not staying at the hotel.

Visitor/tourist services

Tate Boat Service

The Tate Boat Service serves visitors travelling between the Tate Modern museum on the South Bank and the older Tate Britain in Millbank across the river, with a stop by the London Eye and the Saatchi Gallery.

The O₂ Express

The O₂ Express is an express service serving Waterloo Pier, London Bridge Pier and QEII Pier for The O₂. The service also provides private charters.

Vessels

Thames Clippers operates 13 high speed catamarans. [ [http://www.thamesclippers.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=44&Itemid=52 Clippers - Our Fleet] ]
*"Hurricane Clipper" - 220 seats. Built in 2001.
*"Cyclone", "Monsoon", "Tornado", and "Typhoon" Clippers - 220 seats. Built in 2007.
*"Aurora" and "Meteor" Clippers - 220 seats. Purchased in 2008.
*"Sun" and "Moon" Clippers - 138 seats. Built in 2001.
*"Twinstar" - 125 seats. Built in 1976.
*"Sky", "Star", and "Storm" Clippers - 65 seats. Built in 1990 & 1991.

Accidents

In February 2004, a woman was killed after she was hit, while waiting for a boat, by a mooring bollard which had come loose from the Star Clipper at St. Katherine's Pier. [cite web
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4276081.stm
title = Woman 'killed by mooring bollard'
accessdate = 2008-03-29
author =
date = 2005-02-18
work = BBC News]

Onboard Service

Thames Clipper vessels have on-board cafes and bars operated by the London company S & M Cafe.

Wireless internet

Since May 2006, ThamesOnline is offering wireless internet access to commuters using the Thames clipper service.

External links

* [http://www.thamesclippers.com/ Official website]
* [http://www.tfl.gov.uk/river/ Transport for London River Service information]

References