London River Services Limited is a division of Transport for London (TfL), which manages passenger transport - leisure-oriented tourist services and commuter services - along the River Thames in and around London. It does not own or operate any boats itself, except those on the Woolwich Ferry, but licences the services of operators.
The Thames had been used as a common means of transport in London for centuries, but use died off in the early 1900s, as transportation was enhanced (and river traffic somewhat blocked) with a proliferation of bridges and tunnels. With these numerous north–south crossings of the Thames, which is generally no more than 300 m (980 ft) wide as it flows through central London, the revival of river boat services in London therefore mostly travel east or west along the Thames rather than across it; the only major cross-river ferry services can be found further downstream where the river is much wider, and there are far fewer bridge or tunnel crossings.
