Thames Clippers (since July 2020 branded as Uber Boat by Thames Clippers for sponsorship purposes with

Uber Uber Technologies, Inc. (Uber), based in San Francisco, provides mobility as a service, ride-hailing (allowing users to book a car and driver to transport them in a way similar to a taxi), food delivery (Uber Eats and Postmates), packa ...

) is a river bus service on the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The company operates both commuter services between eastern and Central London and tourist services under licence from London River Services. At present they transport around 10,000 passengers daily on average.

Company

Sean Collins co-founded Thames Clippers in 1999 with partner Alan Woods as Collins River Enterprises. Thames Clippers was then taken over in September 2006 by the American

Anschutz Entertainment Group The Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), also known as AEG Worldwide, is an American global sporting and music entertainment presenter and a subsidiary of The Anschutz Corporation. It is the world's largest owner of sports teams and sports even ...

, 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. In 2007 the company purchased six new catamarans to be used on the commuter service in order to carry a large number of passengers in a comfortable environment. In 2015 and 2017, a total of four new 'Hunt Class' catamarans were purchased for use primarily on the RB6 Service. In July 2020, the company announced a partnership with U.S.-based ride-sharing service

, which acquired naming rights to the ferry and rebranding the service as Uber Boat by Thames Clippers.

Tickets

Thames Clippers operate under licence from Transport for London. The river boat service is now better integrated into the tube and bus ticketing network. From November 2009, Thames Clippers services started to accept Oyster pay as you go on all of its services, which also provides a discount on single and return fares. Contactless payment is also accepted. A River Roamer ticket, valid for one day, is available from Thames Clippers which allows the holder to hop on and hop off along the banks of the Thames between Putney Pier and

Woolwich Arsenal Pier Woolwich (Royal Arsenal) Pier, also known as the Royal Arsenal Pier, Woolwich, is a pier on the River Thames, at Woolwich in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, England. Designed by Beckett Rankine and built by Mowlem in 2002, the pier is operate ...

(including the

Canary Wharf - Rotherhithe Ferry Canary originally referred to the island of Gran Canaria on the west coast of Africa, and the group of surrounding islands (the Canary Islands). It may also refer to: Animals Birds * Canaries, birds in the genera '' Serinus'' and '' Crithagra'' ...

). The cost is £19.90 for an adult and £39.80 for a family. An adult single trip fare changes depending on zones. They range from £4.90 to £13.00 (or £4.50 to £12.00 if payment is made online, in app or with an oyster or contactless card). There is a one third discount for holders of valid

travelcard The Travelcard is an inter-modal travel ticket for unlimited use on the London Underground, London Overground, Elizabeth line, Docklands Light Railway, London Trams, London Buses and National Rail services in the Greater London area. Tr ...

s (excluding Family River Roamer tickets and fares for The O2 Express). Special river service season tickets, valid for either 1 week, 1 month, or 1 year, are also available. Discounts for

holders are also available on season tickets. Carnet tickets are also available via the Thames Clippers tickets app. Park and Glide tickets are also available which grant access to the car park at The O2, and the River Bus.

Commuter services

RB1

During weekday mornings and evenings and throughout the weekend the service runs from

Battersea Power Station Battersea Power Station is a decommissioned Grade II* listed coal-fired power station, located on the south bank of the River Thames, in Nine Elms, Battersea, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It was built by the London Power Company (LPC) ...

in the west to

Barking Riverside Barking Riverside is a mixed-use development in the area of Barking, east London, England, within the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. It is being built on land formerly occupied by Barking Power Station, adjacent to the River Thames, ...

in the east. On weekday daytimes between the peak hours the service is truncated and serves piers between Westminster and North Greenwich. The service runs every 20 minutes during the day, and every 30 minutes in the very early morning and evenings. Stops from west to east:

RB2

During weekday daytimes (between the morning and evening peaks) the service runs from Battersea Power Station in the west to Greenwich in the east. At weekends the service runs all day between Battersea Power Station and North Greenwich (The O2). Stops from west to east:

RB4

Thames Clippers operates the direct cross river Canary Wharf – Rotherhithe Ferry, between

Canary Wharf Pier Canary Wharf is a London River Services pier on the River Thames in Canary Wharf, London. It is located next to Westferry Circus. Services It is served by two commuter oriented services, both operated by Thames Clippers under licence from Lond ...

and the Nelson Dock Pier at the Doubletree Docklands in

Rotherhithe Rotherhithe () is a district of south-east London, England, and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is on a peninsula on the south bank of the Thames, facing Wapping, Shadwell and Limehouse on the north bank, as well as the Isle of D ...

. The service uses smaller boats than the commuter service but runs at a higher frequency of every 20 minutes and every 10 minutes during peak times. The ferry can be used by guests of the hotel free of charge as well as by passengers not staying at the hotel at a cost.

RB6

This runs peak times Monday to Friday only. Stops are: *

Putney Putney () is a district of southwest London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. History Putney is an ancient paris ...

* Wandsworth Riverside Quarter * Plantation Wharf * Chelsea Harbour * Cadogan *

* Vauxhall (St George Wharf) * Millbank *

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...

* Embankment * Blackfriars *

Bankside Bankside is an area of London, England, within the London Borough of Southwark. Bankside is located on the southern bank of the River Thames, east of Charing Cross, running from a little west of Blackfriars Bridge to just a short distance befo ...

* London Bridge City *

Tower A tower is a tall structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting structures. Towers are specifi ...

Canary Wharf Canary Wharf is an area of London, England, located near the Isle of Dogs in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Canary Wharf is defined by the Greater London Authority as being part of London's central business district, alongside Central Lon ...

Trial service to Gravesend

In September 2017, Thames Clippers ran a trial commuter service between Gravesend and Central London.
On 4 November 2022, Thames Clippers announced that they had completed the purchase of Gravesend Town Pier, with an aim to operating long-term River Bus services from the pier within the next 2-3 years.

Visitor/tourist services

Tate to Tate

The Tate to Tate is a ticketed leisure service between the

Tate Modern Tate Modern is an art gallery located in London. It houses the United Kingdom's national collection of international modern and contemporary art, and forms part of the Tate group together with Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. It ...

at Bankside Pier and the

Tate Britain Tate Britain, known from 1897 to 1932 as the National Gallery of British Art and from 1932 to 2000 as the Tate Gallery, is an art museum on Millbank in the City of Westminster in London, England. It is part of the Tate network of galleries in ...

at Millbank Pier. Passengers travel on the RB1 service on weekdays and the RB2 at weekends. Tickets can be purchased from the Tate galleries in addition to standard options.

The O₂ Express

The O₂ Express is an express service calling at London Eye Pier,

Westminster Millennium Pier Westminster Millennium Pier is a pier on the River Thames, in the City of Westminster in London, UK. It is operated by London River Services and served by various river transport and cruise operators. It is located next to Westminster Bridge ...

Embankment Pier Embankment Pier is a pier on the River Thames in City of Westminster, London. It is located on the north bank of the river, immediately next to the Hungerford Bridge and directly outside the river entrance to Embankment Underground station. It ...

London Bridge City Pier London Bridge City Pier (also known as London Bridge Pier and City Pier) is situated on the south bank of the River Thames in London, UK, close to London Bridge. It serves as the main pier for the City of London and City Hall, former headqua ...

Tower Millennium Pier Tower Millennium Pier is a pier on the River Thames, in Tower Hill, London, England. It is operated by London River Services and served by various river transport and cruise operators. The pier is close to Tower Bridge and is situated immediatel ...

Greenwich Pier Greenwich Pier is on the south bank of the River Thames in Greenwich, London. It was built in 1836 to cater for the many paddle steamers that brought visitors on day trips to Greenwich from London further up river. At the time, London's urban a ...

and North Greenwich Pier for The O₂. The service also provides private charters.

Fleet

Thames Clippers operates 16 high-speed catamarans with a maximum speed of , plus a more conventional catamaran for the Hilton ferry.

Accidents

On 2 May 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. On 4 October 2011 at 7pm, the Moon Clipper hit the

when it was carrying about 50 people. Four people were injured. On 5 December 2016, the Typhoon Clipper collided with the workboat Alison, resulting in the sinking of the workboat. The two crew members on the workboat were taken to hospital.

Expansion

Policy Exchange Policy Exchange is a British conservative think tank based in London. In 2007 it was described in ''The Daily Telegraph'' as "the largest, but also the most influential think tank on the right". ''The Washington Post'' said Policy Exchange's re ...

report from 2010 advocated significant expansion in river services on the Thames. The aim of the report is to lead to a "river tube line" being created which would lead to easing of current congestion on London's transport systems, and better quality of travel, at a significantly cheaper price than other options. Opponents note that the river capacity, especially at low tide could mean a reduction of tourist boats (especially at peak commuter times), and turn the Thames into an urban highway which would be detrimental to London. To be feasible, the report calls for better management of river traffic, improved interchange with other public transport modes and expansion of key piers. The Mayor of London is responsible for the River Concordat group, which is made-up of over forty different organisations including Thames Clippers. The publication, ''By the River'', sets out the strategic vision for improving river transport on the Thames. They plan to expand further east down the river start with a calling at a pier in Silvertown in October 2019 and plans in the future to go to

Thamesmead Thamesmead is an area of south-east London, England, straddling the border between the Royal Borough of Greenwich and the London Borough of Bexley. It is located east of Charing Cross, north-east of Woolwich and west of Erith. It mainly con ...

and Barking. In 2017, Thames Clippers and London Resort made a deal for the provision of Clipper services between Central London and the proposed theme park located on the Swanscombe Peninsula in Kent. The Thames Clipper services are also planned to operate between the theme park and a park & ride car park located on the north side of the River Thames in Tilbury Docks. These services are scheduled to start operation when the theme park opens in 2024. An Uber Boat in new livery without logos

Sponsorship

The first company to enter a partnership with Thames Clippers was NatWest in 2008. The boats were reliveried in black sponsorship stickers displaying the NatWest and Thames Clippers Logo.

KPMG KPMG International Limited (or simply KPMG) is a multinational professional services network, and one of the Big Four accounting organizations. Headquartered in Amstelveen, Netherlands, although incorporated in London, England, KPMG is a net ...

won a three-year sponsorship deal in 2011 and sponsored the clippers during the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics. In August 2014, MBNA the bank holding company signed a three-year sponsorship deal with Thames Clippers, and introduced a better ticketing system. In June 2020, American company Uber entered a new partnership with Thames Clippers whereby they won naming rights to the service. As of 2020, the service has been rebranded as "Uber Boat by Thames Clippers".

References

External links

*
Transport for London River Service information
{{Uber 1999 establishments in England Anschutz Corporation London River Services Transport operators in London Water taxis