Canary Wharf chiefs are hiring a 170-seater catamaran to ferry people between the financial district and London Bridge during the Olympics.

The move comes alongside a number of other transport initiatives to ensure the area “will be open for business,” while the Games take place.

The Canary Wharf Group, which owns and manages the estate, announced today that the service, hired from Thames Clipper, will run during peak morning and evening rush-hour periods to ease pressure on other links.

The only times a catamaran has been hired before have been during Tube strikes and the charges will be same as usual.

In addition to the boat, Transport for London is providing four more trains per hour on the Jubilee Line - taking the total number to 30 - as part of a long-term target.

Furthermore, during busy periods, four westbound trains an hour will begin their journeys from Canary Wharf instead of Stratford, meaning that Wharf workers will not be faced with streams of full-to-capacity carriages.

Last week 300 bike hire docking stations were opened in Canary Wharf and a further 2,000 conventional bike racks will be set up before the Games start.

Howard Dawber, strategic advisor for CWG, said: “The plans will ensure that offices, shops, bars and restaurants will continue to be staffed, helping the local economy to remain buoyant.”

Usual peak-time commuter numbers are expected to drop by a quarter during the events.

But other times - notably the evening rush hours of Friday August 3 and Monday August 6 to Thursday August 9 - are likely to face “significant disruption”, according to the group.

Transport chiefs have warned of waits longer than half an hour and so commuters are being encouraged to avoid these times which coincide with the prime events finishing.

Alongside enhancements for commuter travel, CWG is supplying shops and firms with containers to store stationary and stock supplies so that delivery vehicles do not need to enter the area during the Games.

Essential deliveries will run at night.