Uber Boat by Thames Clippers

About the city. The city of London is situated on the River Thames in the south-east of England, at the beginning of its 80 km estuary leading to the North Sea.

Goal

The aim of the project is to reduce private car ownership in favour of shared, electric vehicles, and making greater use of the river network for urban mobility, providing safe shipping.

Implementation period. The first boat set sail on the River Thames in August 2020.

Fact

More than 4.3 million people use the river Thames every year for commuting and recreation on the Thames Clippers network. According to recent research conducted by Thames Clippers, increasing the number of seats per passenger and fresh air is one of the reasons that more than 40% of river passengers plan to increase their use of this service in the future.

Solutions

A fleet of 20 boats on the river Thames, with departures from 23 piers across London from Putney in the West to Woolwich Royal Arsenal in the East, helps passengers travel around the city in space and comfort. Leisure travellers will also be able to take advantage of this service, as the city visitors need to travel safely around London as soon as it starts moving again.

Uber is launching this service in its smartphone app, which means users can pre-purchase tickets to guarantee themselves a seat, and then use QR code technology to board. Payment will be made using Uber account details.

Challenges

Uber has previously experienced difficulties in London due to licensing issues.

Transport for London (TfL) revoked the firm’s private hire license in London back in 2017, citing security concerns. However, Uber continued to operate, and after an appeal, it was granted a license for 15 months.

But its future on London’s roads is still in question. The company’s application for another new licence at the end of 2019 was rejected by TfL after at least 14,000 trips were made with drivers who were not shown in the app. The appeal against this decision is still ongoing.

Team

Uber and Thames Clippers

Timeline

Before the pandemic, Thames Clippers carried just 1.4 passengers per square meter, which has dropped to 0.85 in the past few months, while the tube had five to seven people per square meter before the pandemic, which TfL said had dropped to 1.3 passengers per square meter since March 2020.

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