Published: 07/04/2014
Major improvements to Wandsworth’s riverbus services are attracting more and more local commuters onto the Thames. The Putney to Blackfriars route has now seen a 130% increase in passenger numbers since its re-launch in April 2013.
As demand has increased more services have been added to the timetable with some boats now travelling direct to Canary Wharf. Journey times from Putney to central London are now just over 40 minutes as Thames Clippers’ modern catamarans outpace their predecessors.
Unlike other public transport options the boats have coffee shops on board, and free Wi-Fi. Services stop in the borough at Putney Pier and Wandsworth Riverside Quarter. The town hall is using its planning powers to secure new passenger piers at Plantation Wharf and Battersea Power Station.
Cllr Russell King, Wandsworth’s transport spokesman, said: ‘Our transport network is developing fast. We now have the Barclays Cycle Hire scheme in the north of the borough, a vastly improved riverbus service and longer trains are now coming to service on our railways’.