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The latest business to be affected by the pandemic is the Thames Clippers, the capital’s fleet of river shuttles and officially London’s most civilised mode of transport. The service had already reduced its operating times in line with government instructions regarding non-essential travel and social distancing. Today it announced that the whole service, from Woolwich in the east to Putney in the west would be suspended for the immediate future from this coming weekend.
In a statement, CEO and co-founder Sean Collins said: ‘Further to a significant drop in passenger demand in recent days, following the UK government’s direction to travel only when absolutely necessary, from Saturday 28 March 2020 we will temporarily be suspending all Thames Clippers services until further notice. This decision has not been taken lightly. However, at this time, as a privately owned business, it is no longer viable for us to continue to run our services […] We will reinstate our service to keep London moving as soon as it is safe to do so. We are asking our season ticket holders to visit www.
Thames Clippers started operating in 1999, and currently transports around 10,000 Londoners and visitors every day. Drinking a summer beer on the open rear deck as you glide beneath Tower Bridge and the sun dips in the west is one of this city’s great pleasures, so here’s hoping they’re up and running again soon.
Find more information on Thames Clippers at www.thamesclippers.com.
Find ways to help (and get help) during London’s lockdown here.