engine. Transport for London introduced an Art On The River scheme in 2014, showing decorative artwork on the ferry vessels. These vessels ceased operation on 5 October 2018, after which service was suspended for four months and the ferries sold for demolition. Two new vessels, the Ben Woollacott and the Dame Vera Lynn, were delivered from the Remontowa shipyard in Gdańsk, Poland, to replace the previous fleet in October 2018. The new vessels entered service on 1 February 2019. They have suffered from numerous technical issues resulting in closures and service reductions, with Mayor of London Sadiq Khan apologising in November 2019 and stating the new ferries "aren't good enough". Passenger numbers The ferry typically carries about two million passengers a year; occupants of vehicles (including drivers) are counted as passengers. In 2012 the ferry carried around 20,000 vehicles and 50,000 passengers weekly. At all times of day, but particularly at peak hours, it is common for vehicles to have to queue beyond the next ferry departure. Various improvements have been made to the vehicle queueing arrangements over the years, especially to avoid impacting local traffic. For foot passengers, bus services connect to both terminals. There is a small bus station on the north side, but some cross-river foot passengers take the foot tunnel instead. About 300 foot passengers used the ferry daily between 1983 and 1985. Further competition arrived in 2009 with the extension to Woolwich of the Docklands Light Railway, which crosses under the river to the east of the crossing and the tunnel, and has led to a reduction in the number of foot passengers using the ferry. Future The ferry service provides one of the few road crossings of the Thames east of the City of London. As long as there is a demand for a vehicle ferry it is unlikely to be discontinued, and doing so would require changing the Metropolitan Board of Works (Various Powers) Act 1885. Planning applications were submitted for a new bridge, the Thames Gateway Bridge, close to the Woolwich Ferry, in 2004 although the project was cancelled in 2008. In 2012, the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, announced the Gallions Reach Crossing, a replacement ferry service running further east from Beckton to Thamesmead which was expected to open in 2017. This did not occur and has been replaced with proposals for either a new bridge or tunnel in the area.