PLA once again played their essential ‘backstage’ role on this year’s Boat Race, facing a bigger challenge than usual due to the November storms and heavy rains of the New Year. The storms felled a number of trees and dislodged branches, so much so that our clear-up generated 12 tonnes of timber.

And the higher river levels and strong river flow after the floods lifted much more driftwood into the river. Our marine services team dedicated more than two weeks to clearing the Boat Race course.

The River Thames came into its own, once again, as a vital highway to take the strain during February’s two-day strike on the London Underground. By increasing the frequency of the river’s services, many thousands of

commuters were able to share the great experience of travelling to work on the river.

Transport for London stepped into the breach by funding extra passenger capacity for the two days provided by commuter service operator, Thames Clippers working with fellow river service operator, City Cruises. The move saw commuter passenger numbers on the river jump almost four-fold.

“During the peak commuting hours on 29 and 30 January combined, Thames Clippers carried over 6,000 passengers. A week later, on the strike days of 5 and 6 February, a

combined total of over 22,000 passengers travelled during the peak commuting hours due to the increased Clippers’ frequency and extra capacity offered by river tour operator, City Cruises,” said London River Services General Manager, Andy Thompson.

“We had great feedback from many passengers who had not previously thought to use the service. It appears that some of these passengers have continued to use the river since the strikes.”