Call for Travelcard to cover Thames cable car fares as numbers drop

 
new cable car link
28 November 2012

Fresh demands for the Thames cable car to be included in the Travelcard scheme were made today after new figures showed usage dropped to a low of 301 on one day in September.

Bad weather caused the Emirates Air Line to be closed for part of Monday September 24 but statistics released for September and last month also show low passenger numbers.

For the nine-week period ending Sunday November 4 there were 18 days when the total number of passengers fell below 3,500.

The cable car can carry 2,500 passengers an hour between the Greenwich Peninsula and the Royal Docks.

A cash ticket costs £4.30, Oyster £3.20 and a multi-journey pass offers 10 trips for £16. But during those nine weeks sales of the multi-journey pass were mostly below 10 a day. On two days none was sold.

Darren Johnson, Green Party member of the London Assembly, said: “It would have been a much better option if it had connected with Canary Wharf.”

He called for the car to be incorporated into the TfL fares structure including the Freedom Pass and Travelcard.

Caroline Pidgeon, leader of the London Assembly’s Liberal Democrats and chairwoman of the transport committee, said: “Having poured so much public money into the project [the Mayor] must now ensure it operates as an integral form of public transport.”

TfL's Head of the Emirates Air Line, Danny Price, said: “Passenger numbers were unusually low on Monday 24 September as the Emirates Air Line was suspended due to high winds.

"The number of journeys made on the Emirates Air Line has already exceeded the first year target after only four months and current passenger numbers are in line with TfL’s forecasts.

"As with all new transport links, the number of regular users builds over a period of time as people become familiar with new journey possibilities.

"The purpose of the Emirates Air Line is to support regeneration in east London.

"If the Emirates Air Line was at full capacity now there would be serious concerns about how it could carry the future population growth it was built to support.”

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