A water taxi or a water bus, also known as a sightseeing boat, is a watercraft used to provide public or private transport, usually, but not always, in an urban environment. 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.
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, United Kingdom.
Locations
Cities and other places operating water buses and/or taxis include:
- Alexandria, Virginia
- Amsterdam
- Astana
- Auckland
- Baltimore
- Baltimore Water Taxi
- Bangkok
- Chao Phraya Express Boat
- Khlong Saen Saep boat service
- Bordeaux
- Boats BatCub
- Boston
- Bratislava
- Bratislava Propeler
- Bremen
- Brisbane
- CityCat
- CityFerry
- Bristol
- Bristol Ferry Boats
- Brunei
- Bucharest
- Budapest
- Buenos Aires, Tigre
- Bydgoszcz, Poland
- Cardiff
- Cardiff Waterbus
- Cap-Haïtien, Haiti (at Labadee beach)
- Cape Town
- Caye Caulker
- Charleston
- Charleston Water Taxi
- 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
- Gothenburg
- Älvsnabben ferry
- Paddan
- Guangzhou, China
- Halifax Regional Municipality
- Hamburg
- Helsinki
- Hong Kong: Cheung Chau, Chi Ma Wan, Peng Chau, Silvermine Bay
- New World First Ferry
- Istanbul
- Jacksonville, Florida
- Jacksonville Water Taxi
- Karachi
- Kobe
- Kochi
- Kragerø and surrounding area, Norway
- Kristiansund, Norway
- Lake Ozark, Missouri
- Laughlin, Nevada and Bullhead City, Arizona
- Leeds
- Lisbon
- London
- London River Services
- Thames Clippers
- Long Beach, California
- Long Beach Transit
- Malta
- Dghajsa
- Manila
- Pasig River Ferry Service
- Moscow (River tram)
- Mumbai (Catamarans and ferries)
- Nantes
- Navibus
- National Harbor, Maryland
- New York City
- Liberty Water Taxi
- New York Water Taxi
- NYC Ferry
- New Zealand
- Niigata
- Oklahoma City
- Orlando, Florida
- Osaka
- Osaka SuijÅ Bus
- Oslo
- Bygdøfergene
- NBDS
- Oslo-Fergene
- Panama
- Paris
- Voguéo
- Pittsburgh
- Plymouth
- Portland, Maine
- Potsdam, Germany
- Quad Cities, Illinois/Iowa
- Rotterdam/Dordrecht
- Sacramento
- Saint Petersburg
- Aquabus
- Seattle
- King County Water Taxi
- Seoul
- Sha Lo Wan, Tai O, Tuen Mun, Tung Chung (Urmston Road, Hong Kong)
- Shizuoka
- Singapore (Singapore River)
- Spalding (River Welland)
- Stockholm
- Sydney
- Tallinn
- Tampa
- The Woodlands, Texas
- Tokyo
- Tokyo Cruise Ship
- Tokyo Mizube Line
- Toronto
- Toronto water taxis
- Trinidad
- Water Taxi Service, Port of Spain to San Fernando â€" service implemented in December 2008
- Vancouver
- The Aquabus
- Coastal Link Ferries
- English Bay Launch
- False Creek Ferries
- Granville Island Water Taxi Services (defunct)
- SeaBus
- Venice
-
- Gondola
- Vaporetto
- Victoria, British Columbia
- Victoria Harbour
- Walt Disney World
- Wellington
- Ferries in Wellington
- Winnipeg
- Xochimilco, Mexico City
- Chalupa
- Yokohama
- Keihin Ferry Boat
- The Port Service
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 5 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.
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
External links
- Media related to Water taxis at Wikimedia Commons
