Baltimore Water Taxi

Baltimore Water Taxi
LocaleBaltimore Inner Harbor
WaterwayBaltimore Inner Harbor
Transit typeWater taxi
OwnerKevin Plank
OperatorHarbor Boating, Inc
Began operation4 July 1975[1] (49 years ago)
No. of lines5
No. of vessels13
No. of terminals17
Daily ridership16,000,000 over 25 years
Websitehttp://www.thewatertaxi.com/ Baltimore Water Taxi

Baltimore Water Taxi is a water taxi service offering sightseeing and transportation service mainly to points along the Baltimore Inner Harbor.

History

The Baltimore Water Taxi (BWT) was founded by Edward M. Kane (1931–2003),[2] and for many years known as Ed Kane's Water Taxi. In 2010 it was sold and renamed.[3]

While tourism is the traditional use of these taxis,[4][5] there are increasing efforts to use them as commuter transportation. Here one of the barriers is getting from the dock to the office, and Ed Kane's was one of the first to offer extra ground transportation for this purpose.[6] The city of Baltimore is encouraging this by subsidizing some new routes, some operated by Ed Kane's,[7] but this has in turn been criticized as an inefficient use of taxpayer money.[8]

In 2016, the Baltimore Water Taxi service was purchased by Sagamore Ventures, operated by Harbor Boating, Inc. Under the new ownership, the Baltimore Water Taxi has plans to expand transportation service to Port Covington in South Baltimore.[9]

Routes

The BWT has five taxi routes and one Harbor Connector route that circulate the Patapsco River from Memorial Day to Labor Day.[10]

  • Red: Two-stop route from Harborplace to Fell's Point.
  • Green: Circulates counterclockwise from Harbor East to Rusty Scupper (stopping at piers 1-5 & 7).
  • Yellow: Circulates counterclockwise from Fell's Point to Tide Point (stopping at piers 4, 7, 8, 10 & 11).
  • Purple: Two-stop route from Fell's Point to Fort McHenry.
  • Blue: Circulates counterclockwise from Captain James Landing to Canton Waterfront Park (stopping at piers 10, 11, 14, & 16)
  • Harbor Connector: Connects Maritime Park to Tide Point and Canton Waterfront Park. Runs Monday thru Friday 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM.

Stops

As of 2016, the system has five taxi lines with seventeen stops throughout the Inner Harbor.[10]

Number Name Location Landmarks Connections
1 Aquarium 501 East Pratt Street
National Aquarium		 Baltimore World Trade Center
National Aquarium
Power Plant Live!		      Shot Tower–Market Place
MTA 7, 10, 31
2 Harborplace 201 East Pratt Street
Harborplace		 The Gallery
Harborplace Shops
McKeldin Square
USS Constellation
Visitor Center		      Charles Center
Orange Circulator
MTA 7, 10, 19, 31, 119
Baltimore Bike Share Station 5
3 Science Center 601 Light Street
Maryland Science Center		 Maryland Science Center
Rash Field		 Banner Circulator
MTA 64
4 Rusty Scupper 402 Key Highway
Federal Hill		 American Visionary Art Museum
Federal Hill Park
Rusty Scupper Restaurant		 Banner Circulator
5 Pier Five Pier 5
Seven Foot Knoll Light		 Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology
Pier Six Pavilion
USCGC Taney		      Shot Tower–Market Place
Orange Circulator
7 Harbor East East Falls Avenue/Aliceanna Street
Harbor East		 Harbor East Shopping & Dining
Little Italy		 Baltimore Bike Share Station 6
8 Maritime Park Thames Street/Block Street
Harbor Poinit		 Bond Street Wharf
Frederick Douglass-Isaac Myers Maritime Park		 Green Circulator
Baltimore Bike Share Station 4
10 Tide Point North end of Hull Street
Locust Point		 Tide Point
Latrobe Park
Under Armour HQ
11 Fell's Point Thames Street/Broadway Square
Fell's Point		 Broadway Market
Historic Fell's Point
Thames Street Park
14 Captain James Landing 2121 Aliceanna Street
Fell's Point		 Captain James Crabhouse
Holy Rosary Church
Patterson Park		 MTA 13, 31
16 Canton Waterfront Park 3001 Boston Street
Canton		 DuBurns Arena
O'Donnell Square		 MTA 13, 31
17 Fort McHenry Constellation Plaza
Fort McHenry		 Historic Fort McHenry
Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail		 Banner Circulator
MTA 1

See also

  • Living Classrooms Foundation, was a competitor operating the Harbor Shuttle service in Baltimore's Harbor until closing after an accident in March 2004.

References

  1. ^ Pedley, Brian (2001-07-13). "Baltimore: All aboard for the star-spangled vista". London: The Telegraph, UK. Archived from the original on 2012-09-11. Retrieved 2010-05-01.
  2. ^ J. Greff (2005). Fell's Point. Arcadia Publishing. p. 103. ISBN 0-7385-1845-X.
  3. ^ Daniel J. Sernovitz (Aug 11, 2010). "Ed Kane's Water Taxis under new ownership". Baltimore Business Journal.
  4. ^ "Baltimore Water Taxi". Visit Baltimore.
  5. ^ "10 Ways to Get Out on the Water". Maryland Office of Tourism.
  6. ^ Jennifer Saranow (September 5, 2006). "Cities Encourage Commuters to Take to the Water". The Wall Street Journal.
  7. ^ "Department of Transportation Launches New Fare Free Water Taxi Service" (PDF). City Of Baltimore. 1 May 2009. [permanent dead link‍] Press Release about free commuter service.
  8. ^ Daniel J. Sernovitz (May 4, 2009). "Baltimore debuts free water taxi". Baltimore Business Journal.
  9. ^ "First of Sagamore's new water taxis hits the water - Baltimore Business Journal". Archived from the original on 2016-10-14.
  10. ^ a b "Baltimore Water Taxi VIP Guide" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on May 18, 2023.