Water taxi

A water taxi or a water bus is a boat used to provide public or private transport, usually, but not always, in an urban environment.^[1] Service may be scheduled with multiple stops, operating in a similar manner to a bus, or on demand to many locations, operating in a similar manner to a taxi. A boat service shuttling between two points would normally be described as a ferry rather than a water bus or taxi.

Royal Daffodil ship in Liverpool, Mersey Ferry

Water Bus in Tigre, Buenos Aires

Water taxis parked at Labadie Beach, Haiti

Water Taxis, Cowes, Isle of Wight

Water bus in Cardiff

Water taxi meets water bus in Rotterdam

Water bus in Bydgoszcz, Poland

Water taxi in Auckland

A pair of water taxis operating on the waterfront of Boston

A water taxi operating on the waterfront in Puerto Ayora, Galapagos Island of Santa Cruz.

Water bus in Bristol Harbour

Abra in Dubai

New York Water Taxi

Tokyo Water bus

The term water taxi is usually confined to a boat operating on demand, and water bus to a boat operating on a schedule. In North American usage, the terms are roughly synonymous.

The earliest water taxi service was recorded as operating around the area that became Manchester, England.^{[citation needed]}

Locations

Cities and other places operating water buses and/or taxis include:

• Alapuzha Water Taxi^[2][3]
• Alexandria, Virginia
• Amsterdam
• Annapolis, Maryland
• Antwerp
• Auckland^[4]
• Bahrain
• Baltimore
  • Baltimore Water Taxi^[5]
• Bangkok
  • Chao Phraya Express Boat
  • Khlong Saen Saep boat service
  • Khlong Phadung Krung Kasem boat service
• Berlin (see: de:Fährverkehr in Berlin)
• Bordeaux
  • Boats BatCub^[6]
• Boston^[7]
• Bremen
• Brisbane
  • CityCat
  • CityFerry
• Bristol
  • Bristol Ferry Boats
• Brussels
• Brunei
• Bucharest
• Budapest
• Buenos Aires, Tigre
• Bydgoszcz, Poland
• Cardiff
  • Cardiff Waterbus
• Cap-Haïtien, Haiti (at Labadee beach)
• Cape Town
• Caye Caulker
• Charleston^[8]
• Chicago
• Copenhagen
  • Copenhagen Harbour Buses
• Davao City
  • Davao water taxi service
• Dhaka
  • Buriganga River water bus
  • Hatirjheel water taxi
• Dubai
  • Abras
  • RTA water taxis (recently introduced)
• Erie, Pennsylvania
  • Presque Isle Water Taxi
• Fort Lauderdale
• Galápagos Islands
• Gdańsk
• Geneva
  • Mouettes Genevoises
• Gothenburg
  • Älvsnabben ferry
  • Paddan^[9]
• Guangzhou, China
• Halifax Regional Municipality
• Hamburg
  • HADAG
• Helsinki
• Hertford
• Ho Chi Minh City
  • Saigon Waterbus
• Hong Kong
  • Cheung Chau, Chi Ma Wan, Peng Chau, Silvermine Bay
  • Sun Ferry
  • Sha Lo Wan, Tai O, Tuen Mun, Tung Chung (Urmston Road, Hong Kong)
• Istanbul^[10]
• Jacksonville, Florida
  • Jacksonville Water Taxi
• Karachi
• Kobe
• Kochi
• Kragerø and surrounding area, Norway
• Kristiansund, Norway
• Lake Ozark, Missouri^[11]
• Laughlin, Nevada and Bullhead City, Arizona
• Leeds
• Lisbon
  • Transtejo & Soflusa
• London
  • London River Services
  • Uber Boat by Thames Clippers
• Long Beach, California
  • Long Beach Transit
• Lorient
• Malta
  • Dghajsa
• Manila
  • Pasig River Ferry Service
• Marseille
• Moscow (River tram^{[citation needed]}
• Mumbai (Catamarans and ferries)
• Nantes
  • Navibus
• National Harbor, Maryland
• New York City
  • Liberty Water Taxi
  • New York Water Taxi
  • NYC Ferry
• New Orleans - Baton Rouge, Louisiana: Mississippi River from mouth to Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Belle Chasse Marine, Port Ship Service, Crescent Ship Service and Weber Marine.
• New Zealand^[12]
• Niigata
• Nur-Sultan
• Oklahoma City^[13]
• Orlando, Florida
• Osaka
  • Osaka Suijō Bus
• Oslo
  • NBDS
  • Oslo-Fergene^[14]
• Panama
• Paris
  • Batobus
  • Voguéo
• Potsdam, Germany^[15]
• Quad Cities, Illinois/Iowa^[16]
• Rotterdam/Dordrecht^[17]
• Sacramento
• San Francisco
  • SF Water Taxi
• San Martín de los Andes^[18]
• Saint Petersburg
  • Aquabus^{[citation needed]}
• Seattle
  • King County Water Taxi
• Seoul^[19]
• Shizuoka
• Singapore (Singapore River)
• Spalding (River Welland)
• Stockholm^[20]
• Sydney
• Tallinn^[21]
• Tampa^[22]
• Timișoara
• Tokyo
  • Tokyo Cruise Ship
  • Tokyo Mizube Line
• Toronto
  • Toronto water taxis
• Trinidad
  • Water Taxi Service, Port of Spain to San Fernando – service implemented in December 2008
• Trogir
• Pittsburgh
• Plymouth
• Portland, Maine
• Victoria, British Columbia
  • Victoria Harbour^[23]
• Vancouver
  • The Aquabus
  • Coastal Link Ferries
  • English Bay Launch
  • False Creek Ferries
  • Granville Island Water Taxi Services (defunct)
  • SeaBus
• Venice
  • Gondola
  • Vaporetto
• Walt Disney World^[24]
• Wellington
  • Ferries in Wellington
• Winnipeg
• Xochimilco, Mexico City
  • Chalupa
• Yokohama
  • Keihin Ferry Boat
  • The Port Service

Water taxi in San Martín de los Andes

Water taxi near the train station, Grand Canal, Venice

Vaporetto and bus stops in Venice

On demand water taxis are also commonly found in marinas, harbours and cottage areas, providing access to boats and waterfront properties that are not directly accessible by land.

Incidents

On March 6, 2004, a water taxi on the Seaport Taxi service operated by the Living Classrooms Foundation capsized during a storm on the Patapsco River, near Baltimore's Inner Harbor. A total of five passengers died in the accident, which the National Transportation Safety Board determined was caused by insufficient stability when the small pontoon-style vessel encountered strong winds and waves. The company no longer operates water taxi vessels in Baltimore harbor.^[25]

See also

• Duffy-Herreshoff watertaxi
• Ferry, including hydrofoil, catamaran and hovercraft
• Klotok
• Moskvitch-class motorship - Soviet "water tramway"
• Pleasure barge
• Rower woman
• Ship's tender

References

1. "Water Taxi (noun)". Webster's Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. 2021. Retrieved 16 Feb 2021.
2. Outlook India (October 23, 2020). "Water Taxi Launched in Kerala Backwaters". OutlookIndia.
3. "Now, enjoy first-ever water taxi service in Kerala backwaters". LiveMint. October 18, 2020.
4. "Auckland Water Taxis". destination-nz.com. Retrieved July 1, 2008.
5. "Ed Kane's Water Taxi". Ed Kane's Water Taxi. Retrieved May 13, 2009.
6. "Boats BatCub". Retrieved 21 July 2022.
7. "City Water Taxi". Retrieved July 1, 2008.
8. "Charleston Water Taxi". Charleston Water Taxi. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
9. "Hop-On Hop-Off by Paddan". Strömma Turism & Sjöfart. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
10. "Deniz Taksi 0850 222 44 98 (Sea Taxi, Istanbul 0850 222 44 98)". www.deniztaksi.com.tr. Archived from the original on 21 November 2012. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
11. "Water Excursions/Charters/Water Taxi". Lake of the Ozarks Convention & Visitor Bureau. 2012. Retrieved January 20, 2014.
12. "New Zealand Ferries, Water Taxis & Cruises". destination-nz.com. Retrieved July 1, 2008.
13. "Bricktown Water Taxi". Retrieved October 14, 2009.
14. Ruter (2008-03-07). "Båt" (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 2011-02-10. Retrieved 2008-07-08.
15. "Potsdamer Wassertaxi" (in German). Retrieved July 1, 2008.
16. "The Channel Cat Water Taxi". Archived from the original on February 4, 2011. Retrieved August 22, 2009.
17. "Waterbus Rotterdam/Dordrecht" (in Dutch). Retrieved September 9, 2007.
18. "Mari Mari en el Lago Lácar" (in Spanish).
19. "Han River Water Taxi". Archived from the original on July 30, 2012. Retrieved April 6, 2010.
20. "Local boat transport". Stockholm Visitors Board. Retrieved 2012-07-24.
21. "Purjetamine Tallinna Lahel - Sailing.ee - Naissaar, Pärnu ja muu". Sailing.ee. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
22. http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/nov/14/na-tampa-river-taxi-prepares-to-sail/news-breaking/ ^{[dead link‍]}
23. "Victoria Harbour Ferry". Retrieved 2010-01-31.
24. "Water Transportation". Walt Disney World. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
25. "Insufficient Stability Caused Passenger Vessel to Capsize". MarineLink.com. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved July 26, 2007.

External links

• Media related to Water taxis at Wikimedia Commons