Splash! Could the Thames Clippers BE more fun?
Nothing beats the back of the boat as the waves hit the hull
If you haven’t been for a ride on the Uber Boat (as the Thames Clipper commuter ferry has now been rebranded), you absolutely must. It’s truly brilliant.
It uses super-fast catamarans, and standing at the back with the water being churned up round you and the spray hitting your face is seriously exhilarating.
It’s incredibly easy to use. The main route is numbered RB1 and carves a slice all the way from Woolwich in the East to Battersea in the West.
There are super-convenient tube interchanges at Vauxhall (Victoria line), Embankment (Bakerloo, Northern, Circle and District lines), Blackfriars (Thameslink), London Bridge (Northern and Jubilee lines) and Cutty Sark (DLR).
You can touch in and touch out as normal using your Oyster or contactless card, though note that the fare doesn’t contribute to your daily price cap.
The service doesn’t get any Government subsidy, so fares are high.
However, one tip is to just do the fun bit in East London where speeds are highest. A single fare all the way across from Battersea to Woolwich will cost £12 for the 75 minute ride. Just do it from Woolwich to Canary Wharf, however, and you can get 30 minutes for £4.50.
Fares on the clipper are zonal like the tube, but there are only three zones: central (zone 1), east and west.
One final great thing about the Thames Clipper: you can take your bike onboard, so you can cycle to any of the piers, have a splashy, whizzy ride and then cycle on somewhere else.
