London commuters take to the river.

The London bombings have had a dramatic impact on the number of commuters using the boats on the Thames as their preferred means of transport. Operators have registered a 50 per cent increase in commuter passengers since the 7 July attacks, and the Thames Clippers six boats are currently ferrying around 12,000 passengers a week to and from work. Public awareness of the possibilities of Thames travel was heightened when a record-breaking 17,000 people used river transport to return home on the day of the attack, after the closing down of buses and tube lines. To improve customer service a new real-time information system, like that operating on London buses and the tube, has just been installed which sends information to electronic sign boards at each of the eleven stop-off points between Millbank and Woolwich. Thanks to the global positioning system on each boat, which pinpoints the position of each craft with 5-10 metre accuracy, passengers waiting on the piers will now be able to check the boats final destinations and the waiting times involved. This service will be extended next year to the 50 or so boats that run scheduled tourist routes up and down the Thames.