Pedestrian use dropped after the construction of a parallel foot tunnel and the extension of the Docklands Light Railway to Woolwich Arsenal station.

Alternatives such as the Thames Gateway Bridge and Gallions Reach Crossing have been proposed as replacements, but there are no plans to discontinue the Woolwich Ferry as long as there is demand.

[6] A Docklands Light Railway (DLR) station, Woolwich Arsenal on the south side of the Thames, was opened in January 2009 as the new terminus of the London City Airport branch.

Both tunnels have height restrictions for heavy goods vehicles, and users of the Dartford Crossing incur toll charges.

In October 1880, a public meeting was held in Woolwich to discuss setting up a locally run steam-ferry service, but the cost was seen as prohibitive.

[15] In 1884 the board agreed to provide two steam-powered ferries, each costing £10,650, and asked chief engineer Sir Joseph Bazalgette to lead design and construction.

Two days before the first service, the Metropolitan Board of Works was replaced by the London County Council (LCC), and the opening ceremony was conducted by Lord Rosebery instead of the expected Bazalgette.

A proposed bridge between Shooter's Hill and East Ham was rejected as too obvious a target for wartime bombings, and a third vessel was introduced instead.

[22] In April 1963, the paddle steamers were replaced and the ferry service upgraded to a more modern roll-on/roll-off model,[18] reducing waiting times on the approach roads.

On 12 September TfL announced that the outsourcing group Serco would take over the operation of the service from 1 October 2008; the contract ran initially until 31 March 2010.

[29] In 2014, TfL began an upgrade of the ferry service, starting by refurbishing the piers and in 2016 ordering two new boats to replace the existing vessels that were nearing the end of their working life.

[30][31] In early 2017, it was announced that the new ferries were being built by Polish firm Remontowa to a design by Norwegian company LMG Marin.

[32] The diesel-electric hybrid vessels have 210 metres (690 ft) of space for road vehicles over several lanes and dedicated cyclist accommodation.

[33] In October 2018, the Woolwich Ferry was suspended for four months in order to undertake major repair work for the piers, and the existing vessels were taken out of service.

[41] Three vessels were built in Dundee in 1963 by the Caledon Shipbuilding & Engineering Company to replace the paddle steamers, and were each named after prominent local politicians: James Newman (mayor of Woolwich, 1923–25), John Burns, and Ernest Bevin.

[35] 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.

[36] 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".

[51] 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.

[52] 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.