Paul Terry wrote:

In contrast, the very low tide-fall in Venice (normally only a few
inches) means that piers can be very lightweight and docking takes just
a few seconds, resulting in much faster and more efficient services.

The Clippers are already damn quick - their staff seem to be very
skilled at docking quickly.

Despite the high fares and non-regular-interval timetable, they don't
seem to have a problem attracting passengers, either. Quite a few of
them are corporate, going to meetings at Canary Wharf and such (I know
- I've done it!)

Neil