I want to arrange a ride to Canary Wharf shortly, ideally using the Thames Clipper ferry service to cross the Thames from the Docklands Hilton.
Naturally I visited the Thames Clipper website to find out what cycling provision they do or don't have - and I couldn't find a single mention on the site, or their linked PDFs, about taking bicycles on board or not.
I then emailed them and got this absurd reply:
Bicycles are permitted on board. Due to safety regulations we do have a maximum number of bicycles permitted on board, but this is dependent on the size of the vessels and number of passengers on board, which is why we are not able to publish this information, as the number of bicycles we can accommodate varies in accordance with the amount of stowage space available to ensure safety in the event of an evacuation.
Rather than just pretend that bicycles don't exist, why on earth don't they include on their website a statement along the lines of, "A small number of bicycles can normally be carried, dependent on the size of the vessel and number of passengers on board. During peak times (typically X to Y) you are likely to need to wait for a later ferry."
Presumably Thames Clipper have some kind of funding agreement with TfL - I'd hope (though not expect) that TfL would require some cycle carriage and a clear statement about it.
