Results tagged “Sean Collins”

Thames Clippers is planning to expand its river bus service with the introduction of a shuttle boat between Blackfriars and Vauxhall.

Sean Collins, managing director and co-founder of the company, hopes to introduce the service to link up with a new development at St George's Wharf, much further west than current commuter links.

Thames Clippers is answering an SOS from hard-pressed Canary Wharf commuters by introducing a ticket scheme designed to take the stress out of getting to work when the Tube is hit by strikes or delays.

The river bus operator is launching SOS ticket booklets from May 16, the day the next planned Underground strike will start.

Thames Clippers' managing director Sean Collins has defended the decision to put a surcharge on late evening fares from next month.

Late night sailings will be reintroduced from April 1, but season ticket holders will have to pay an extra £2, while Oyster card discounts will not apply. But Mr Collins said the decision was taken after extensive consultation with passengers.

Earlier this month, think tank Policy Exchange outlined a vision for increased river commuting.

As the debate continues, The Wharf talks to Thames Clippers managing director Sean Collins about his thoughts on funding, Oyster and riverside houseboats.

Most Londoners would jump at the chance to avoid being swallowed and spat out by the tube every morning.

Think tank Policy Exchange believe the best way to achieve this is by making better use of the river. The group has released a paper outlining how this may work.

In the early hours of the morning, 10 years ago, Sean Collins captained the first Thames Clippers service with a total of two passengers onboard.

But if he thought that was a sign of things to come, he need not have worried, as the service celebrates its anniversary today with 13 boats on the river carrying nearly three million passengers a year.

Commuters will be soon be able to enjoy special deals when they combine river and rail on their way to work.

Thames Clippers managing director Sean Collins told The Wharf that his fast-ferry company was negotiating with rail operators to offer joint ticketing deals within the next few weeks.

Riverboat commuters can look forward to using their Oyster cards on Thames Clippers boats before the end of the year.

The Wharf can reveal the company is close to agreeing a deal with Transport for London to enable pay-as-you-go Oyster cards to be used on the service, and the system could be operational by the autumn.

THAMES Clippers is doing its best but is a victim of its own success, according to the man behind it.

The river boat service has never been more popular, with passenger numbers up 150 per cent in the last year. Closures on the DLR and regular delays on the Jubilee line results in more people turning to the Clippers to get to and from work.