The Mayor of London and TfL have unveiled a host of measures designed to increase river journeys on the Thames.

More than £10m has been allocated to river services in an attempt to double passenger journeys to 12 million per year by 2020.

River services are already at their most popular level with passenger numbers up by over 25 per cent since 2008.

TfL has said that it will prioritise making the river a "fully integrated part" of London’s transport network and will improve ticketing facilties as well as arrivals information on new and existing piers.

Three new piers are also due to be constructed, with the first at Plantation Wharf, in Battersea, set to open later this year. The other two are at Battersea Power Station and in Greenwich.

There are also plans in place to extend the existing pier at Putney.

By 2031, TfL anticipates there will be an extra 100,000 new homes and 220,000 new jobs close to the Thames, creating even more passenger demand for river services.

Richard Tracey, GLA member for Merton and Wandsworth and the Mayor's ambassador for River Transport, said: "This is a major advance for river transport for which I have been campaigning with my colleagues on both sides of the river for five years.

"We are now clearly opening up the western reaches in our area also with the support for the new pier at Plantation Wharf and the prospect at Battersea Power Station which developers and residents also greatly support."