The Scoop

Late night river buses come back - at a cost

Darryl Chamberlain | Friday 1 April, 2011 13:23

April Fool’s Day brought some good news for people who use London’s biggest river bus service – but bad news for those who think the river can be “a new Tube line”.

Last year, Thames Clippers withdrew its evening services along its route from Embankment Pier to Woolwich, saying the services were very little used.

While the boats were hardly packed, they did provide a handy route home for commuters with homes close to the river, who promptly got up a petition.

Now some evening services have been restored – but at a cost. As of today, two late boats will leave the Embankment at 10.08pm and 11.08pm – but season ticket holders will have to pay a £2 surcharge, and Travelcard holders won’t get their 30% discount on fares which go up to £5.50 per ride.

Thames Clippers boss Sean Collins thinks that with 15-20 passengers on each boat, the new, costlier service could be viable.

None of which, though, is good news for those who think the river can be “a new Tube line”. Failed Labour mayoral candidate Oona King used that as one of her campaign themes, while Conservative-backed think tank Policy Exchange has also pushed for an expansion in river services.

But what sort of Tube line would charge extra for travelling after 10pm? And Boris Johnson has already signalled that he does not want to keep “pouring money into the River Thames” by increasing subsidies to the service.

So for now, if you want to get a river bus after dark, you’ll have to cough up. And dreams of a waterborne “Tube line” have floated that bit further down the river.

---