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. 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, England.
Locations Cities and other places operating water buses and/or taxis include:
Alapuzha Water Taxi Auckland Bahrain Bangkok Chao Phraya Express Boat Khlong Saen Saep boat service Khlong Phadung Krung Kasem boat service Khlong Phasi Charoen boat service Bremen Brisbane CityCat CityFerry Brunei Brussels Buenos Aires, Tigre Cap-Haïtien, Haiti (at Labadee beach) Cape Town Caye Caulker Davao City Davao water taxi service Dhaka Buriganga River water bus Hatirjheel water taxi Dubai Abras RTA water taxis (recently introduced) Galápagos Islands Guangzhou, China Halifax Regional Municipality 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 Karachi Kobe Kochi Kochi Water Metro Lorient Malta Dghajsa Manila Pasig River Ferry Service Mumbai (Catamarans and ferries) New Zealand Niigata Nur-Sultan Osaka Osaka Suijō Bus Panama San Martín de los Andes Seoul Shizuoka Singapore (Singapore River) Sydney 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 Victoria, British Columbia Victoria Harbour 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 Wellington Ferries in Wellington Winnipeg Xochimilco, Mexico City Chalupa Yokohama Keihin Ferry Boat The Port Service
Europe
Amsterdam Antwerp Berlin (see: :de:Fährverkehr in Berlin) Bordeaux Boats BatCub Bristol Bristol Ferry Boats Brussels Bucharest Budapest Bydgoszcz, Poland Cardiff Cardiff Waterbus Copenhagen Copenhagen Harbour Buses Gdańsk Geneva Mouettes Genevoises Gothenburg Älvsnabben ferry Paddan Hamburg HADAG Helsinki Hertford Kragerø and surrounding area, Norway Kristiansund, Norway Leeds Lisbon Transtejo & Soflusa London London River Services Uber Boat by Thames Clippers Marseille Moscow Moscow Regular River Transport Nantes Navibus Oslo NBDS Oslo-Fergene Paris Batobus Voguéo Potsdam, Germany Rotterdam/Dordrecht Saint Petersburg Aquabus Spalding (River Welland) Stockholm Tallinn
USA
Alexandria, Virginia Annapolis, Maryland Baltimore Baltimore Water Taxi Boston Charleston Chicago Erie, Pennsylvania Presque Isle Water Taxi Fort Lauderdale Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville Water Taxi Lake Ozark, Missouri Laughlin, Nevada and Bullhead City, Arizona Long Beach, California Long Beach Transit 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. Oklahoma City Orlando, Florida Sacramento San Francisco SF Water Taxi Seattle King County Water Taxi Tampa Pittsburgh Plymouth Portland, Maine Quad Cities, Illinois/Iowa
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.
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
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