Thames Clippers will return to service on June 15th to help Londoners safely commute through the capital.

The operator has implemented a range of enhanced hygiene and social distancing measures to allow for a safer transport option through London.

With almost half of Thames Clippers’ London commuters having ‘concerns over getting ill on other forms of transport’, and a quarter stating they believe they have a ‘better quality of travel on Thames Clippers’, the river bus service is keen to support workers with getting moving again as we start to see an ease in the lockdown measures.

Thames Clippers will be offering a bespoke timetable for the restart of service.

All services will include measures in place to support social distancing at piers and on board the vessels, as well as an enhanced cleaning regime.

Sean Collins, Thames Clippers co-founder and chief executive, said: “It is key that we can support London and its commuters with the ease of lockdown and return to work, by providing travel in a safe and comfortable way.

“My entire team has worked incredibly hard to deploy new safety measures and to ensure our passengers have a contact-free and enjoyable commuting experience.

“The unique travel experience with Thames Clippers naturally provides good personal spacing and in addition we have reduced our passenger capacity to ensure even greater social distancing, which has allowed us to increase the number of bicycles we can carry on each boat, so those who want to cycle part of their journey can do so too.”

At peak times pre-coronavirus, Thames Clippers carried 1.4 passengers per square metre.

With the new social distancing measures in place, this is reduced to just 0.85 passengers per square metre.

For context, ordinarily, there were five to seven people per square metre on the London Underground and with its current social distancing measures, TfL has managed to reduce this to around 1.3 passengers per square metre.