The introduction of the steamboat had it most dramatic impact on the Rivers Clyde and Tyne.
River boats were the first form of transport to be effectively powered by steam. The sheltered waters of the Clyde estuary are well suited to paddle ships and it was there that the first practical steamboat, the Charlotte Dundas was built. In March 1803 she towed 70 ton barges 30 km (almost 20 miles) along the Forth and Clyde Canal to Glasgow, and despite "a strong breeze right ahead" which stopped all other canal boats it took only nine and a quarter hours, giving an average speed of about 3 km/h (2 mph). Despite the success, canal owners banned the use of steam engines fearing that the wash would damage canal banks. [Ref. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Andrew Symington].
The Clyde estuary had poor internal communication; many of its settlements relied on water transport and the people who lived there were the customers for the first steamship in regular service in Europe - the paddle steamer 'Comet' built in 1812. By 1815, seven steamers were operating there.
In contrast to the pleasure trips that feature so prominently in the London steamboat repertoire; the songs from Tyneside concentrate on the impact on industry and in particular upon the coal trade. Steamboat rapidly became part of an integrated system involving the rapidly developing railways. The introduction of steam tugs on the Tyne allowed ships to go in an out regardless of the weather or tide; it increased the size of the ships that could be brought into the port (from 240 tons to 400 tons); and enabled vessels to increase the number of voyages from average 8 to average 13. This helped to keep the price of coal steady in London.