River Bus service to be extended to Barking Riverside

Concept art of what the new Barking Riverside pier may look like (credit: Beckett Rankine and Anthony Carlile Architects)

Thames Clippers has announced its River Bus service will be extended to include Barking Riverside. 

The company has agreed a long-term contract with Barking Riverside Limited to open a new stop by Winter 2021.

A new pier will extend the RB1 line of its service which will bring commuters from Battersea to Barking Riverside via Central London. 

It will allow people from Barking to cross the Thames to Woolwich within six minutes. They will also be able to travel up river to Greenwich, Canary Wharf and central London within 20, 35 and 45 minutes respectively. 

“This exciting agreement is part of our ambition to open up this remarkable stretch of the River Thames for everyone to enjoy,” said Matthew Carpen, Managing Director for Barking Riverside Limited.

“The new River Bus stop will bring many benefits for the local area and create new opportunities for our diverse and enterprising community. It will put Barking Riverside firmly onto the map, and attract new residents to make Barking Riverside their home, as well as inspiring other Londoners to come and visit us.”

The wider Barking Riverside development is aiming to create 10,000 new homes on a former industrial site the size of Hyde Park. Around 30,000 people may eventually live in the area which will feature commercial and leisure facilities along with parkland and access to the river. 

“The addition of a stunning new pier at Barking Riverside is an incredibly exciting milestone for Thames Clippers,” said Sean Collins, co-founder and CEO of Thames Clippers.

“As our 24th and easternmost pier on the network it also extends our route by 4km and is a significant step in our commitment to expand yet further east and our target to operate a route that spans over 50km of the river by 2025. ”

The deal has been agreed in close collaboration with the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, which has contributed £600,000 in funding for the project.

Councillor Darren Rodwell, Leader of Barking and Dagenham Council, said: “Barking and Dagenham is London’s Growth Opportunity and we are well and truly set to be one of the best-connected boroughs in London.

“Our borough already boasts a 15-minute journey to Fenchurch Street on the C2C, and exciting projects like this mean that we’re able to further increase connectivity to our borough and open even more doors to opportunities, for the benefit of our residents and local businesses.”

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