Baltimore Water Taxi

Baltimore Water TaxiLocale| Baltimore Inner Harbor

|

Waterway| Baltimore Inner Harbor
Transit type| Water taxi
Owner| Kevin Plank
Operator| Harbor Boating, Inc
Began operation| 4 July 1975[1] (49 years ago)
No. of lines| 5
No. of vessels| 13
No. of terminals| 17
Daily ridership| 16,000,000 over 25 years
Website| http://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

[edit]

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

[edit]

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

[edit]

As of 2016[update], 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

[edit]

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

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Pedley, Brian (July 13, 2001). "Baltimore: All aboard for the star-spangled vista". London: The Telegraph, UK. Archived from the original on September 11, 2012. Retrieved May 1, 2010.
2. ^ J. Greff (2005). Fell's Point. Arcadia Publishing. p. 103\. ISBN 0-7385-1845-X.
3. ^ Daniel J. Sernovitz (August 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. May 1, 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 October 14, 2016.
10. ^ a b "Baltimore Water Taxi VIP Guide" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on May 18, 2023.

* bizjournals
* Discover Baltimore
* Waterfront Tech
* Baltimore Harbor: A Pictorial History
* Atlanta Business Chronicle [permanent dead link‍]
* Water Taxi and Boat Trips

## External links

[edit]

* Company Home Page
* Baltimore Sun article on water taxi status after a competitors taxi capsized

* v
* t
* e

Transportation in Metropolitan Baltimore

Agencies|

* MTA
* MDOT

Local Rail|

* Light RailLink (Stations)
* Metro SubwayLink

MARC Train|

* Camden Line
* Penn Line

Bus|

* MTA bus service (Routes)
* Charm City Circulator
* Annapolis Transit
* BWI Marshall Airport Shuttle
* Harford Transit
* RTA Central Maryland
* Superior Tours

Other|

* Amtrak
* Intercity buses
* Baltimore Bike Share
* Water Taxi

Aviation|

* BWI Thurgood Marshall International Airport
* Martin State Airport
* Tipton Airport

Automobile|

| Intrastate|

* MD 2
* MD 10
* MD 25
* MD 26
* MD 43
* MD 45
* MD 100
* MD 139
* MD 140
* MD 144
* MD 147
* MD 175
* MD 295
* MD 542
* MD 702
* MD 940

|

Interstate|

* I-70
* I-83
* I-95
* I-97
* I-195
* I-395
* I-695
* I-795
* I-895
* US 1
* US 29
* US 40

Future projects|

* Red Line
* Green Line
* Yellow Line
* Charles Street Trolley
* BaltimoreLink

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