Water taxi

A water taxi or water bus is a boat used to provide public 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.

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

Locations

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

* Auckland cite web | title = Auckland Water Taxis | url = http://www.destination-nz.com/listing/s-c20-d-e0-pg1-k2/c20-l144/Fullers%20Ferries%20and%20Island%20Tours.html | publisher = destination-nz.com | accessdate = July 1 | accessyear = 2008]
* Baltimore cite web | title = Ed Kane's Water Taxi | url = http://www.thewatertaxi.com/index2.html | publisher = Ed Kane's Water Taxi | accessdate = July 27 | accessyear = 2007]
* Bangkok
* Boston cite web | title = City Water Taxi | url = http://www.citywatertaxi.com/ | accessdate = July 1 | accessyear = 2008]
* Brisbane (see also "CityCat" and "CityFerry")
* Bristol (see also "Bristol Ferry Boat")
* Cardiff
* Chicago
* Copenhagen
* Dubai (see also "Abras")
* Fort Lauderdale
* Gothenburg ("Paddan" tour boat and "Älv-snabben" water bus lines)
* Hamburg
* Istanbul [http://www.deniztaksi.com.tr]
* Jacksonville
* Kobe
* Laughlin, Nevada and Bullhead City, Arizona
* London (see also "London River Services" and "Thames Clippers")
* Nantes (see also "Navibus")
* Manila (see also "Pasig River Ferry Service")
* New York City (see also "New York Water Taxi")
* New Zealand cite web | title = New Zealand Ferries, Water Taxis & Cruises | url = http://www.destination-nz.com/category/c20-pg1/Ferries,-Water-Taxis-&-Cruises.htm | publisher = destination-nz.com | accessdate = July 1 | accessyear = 2008]
* Niigata
* Osaka (see also "Osaka Suijō Bus")
* Oslo (see also Bygdøfergene, NBDS and Oslo Fergene) [cite web |url=http://ruter.no/Rutetilbud/Bat/ |title=Båt |author=Ruter |date=2008-03-07 |accessdate=2008-07-08 |language=Norwegian]
* Pittsburgh
* Potsdam (Germany)cite web | title = Potsdamer Wassertaxi | url = http://www.potsdamer-wassertaxi.de/ | accessdate = July 1 | accessyear = 2008 | language = German]
* Quad Cities of Moline, Illinois and Bettendorf, Iowa
operate the rarely-utilized Channel Cat Water Taxi cite web| title = The Channel Cat Water Taxi | url = http://www.riveraction.org/pages/rwchannelcat.html | accessdate = July 1 | accessyear = 2008 ] cite web| title = Channel Cat Water Taxi | url = http://yp.myjournalcourier.com/Channel+Cat+Water+Taxi.9.13419442p.home.html | accessdate = July 1 | accessyear = 2008] .
* Rotterdam/Dordrecht cite web | title = Waterbus Rotterdam/Dordrecht | url = http://waterbus.nl/ | accessdate = September 9 | accessyear = 2007 | language = Dutch]
* Seattle (see also "West Seattle Water Taxi")
* Seoul
* Shizuoka
* Singapore (Singapore River)
* Spalding (River Welland)
* Stockholmcite web
url = http://www.stockholmtown.com/templates/page____6136.aspx?epslanguage=EN
title = Taxi Boats | publisher = Stockholm Town
accessdate = 2008-01-03 | language = English]
* Sydney (see also "Sydney Ferries")
* Tigre, Buenos Aires
* Toronto (see also "Toronto water taxis")
* Tokyo (see also "Tokyo Cruise Ship" and "Tokyo Mizube Line")
* Vancouver (see also "False Creek Ferries" and "SeaBus")
* Venice (see also "Gondola")
* Winnipeg
* Xochimilco, Mexico City (see also "Chalupa")
* Yokohama (see also "The Port Service" and "Keihin Ferry Boat")

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.cite web | url = http://www.marinelink.com/Story/NTSB:++Insufficient+Stability+Caused+Passenger+Vessel+to+Capsize-202310.html | title = Insufficient Stability Caused Passenger Vessel to Capsize | publisher = MarineLink.com | accessdate = July 26 | accessyear = 2007]

ee also

* Abra (boat)
* Chalupa (boat)
* Duffy-Herreshoff watertaxi
* Ferry, including hydrofoil, catamaran and hovercraft
* Gondola
* Moskvitch (ship) - Soviet "water tramway"
* Pleasure barge

References