Water taxis will be part of Boat Show/Arts Festival
The National Marine Manufacturers Association will be holding the Miami International Boat Show on February 11-15 at its new site on Virginia Key. They received final approval, despite the objections of many.
To help people get around, there will be seven water taxi stops in Miami including Dinner Key Marina in Coconut Grove, the others are Bayside Park; Sea Isle Marina; American Airlines Marina; the Hyatt Regency; the Viceroy Hotel; and the Four Seasons Hotel. There will be 15 to 20 water taxis, each carrying 45 to 130 passengers.
The advantage of the water taxi service for the Grove is that the Coconut Grove Arts Festival is the weekend of February 13-15, so this will help in getting people from one venue to the next. Between you and me, I will take the taxi just for the fun of the ride. It took about 15 minutes for the press to get from Bayside Market place to the Virginia Key site the other day. So it's a nice, fairly quick trip.
There also will be water taxi service to and from the Purdy Avenue boat ramp on Miami Beach, which will be the hub for all Miami Beach hotels. Water taxi service to Dinner Key and Purdy Avenue will be on the hour.
There will be many shuttle buses, too, to help get people around.
Water taxi service will start two days before the show (Tuesday, February 9) and continue until a day after the show (Tuesday, February 16). Operating hours will be 6:30 am to 7 pm on Tuesday and Wednesday; 6:30 am to 9 pm on Thursday; and 9 am. to 7 pm from Friday through Monday.
It would be nice to have these water taxi's on a regular basis, those and regular trolley service would be a big plus for the Grove.
To help people get around, there will be seven water taxi stops in Miami including Dinner Key Marina in Coconut Grove, the others are Bayside Park; Sea Isle Marina; American Airlines Marina; the Hyatt Regency; the Viceroy Hotel; and the Four Seasons Hotel. There will be 15 to 20 water taxis, each carrying 45 to 130 passengers.
The advantage of the water taxi service for the Grove is that the Coconut Grove Arts Festival is the weekend of February 13-15, so this will help in getting people from one venue to the next. Between you and me, I will take the taxi just for the fun of the ride. It took about 15 minutes for the press to get from Bayside Market place to the Virginia Key site the other day. So it's a nice, fairly quick trip.
There also will be water taxi service to and from the Purdy Avenue boat ramp on Miami Beach, which will be the hub for all Miami Beach hotels. Water taxi service to Dinner Key and Purdy Avenue will be on the hour.
There will be many shuttle buses, too, to help get people around.
Water taxi service will start two days before the show (Tuesday, February 9) and continue until a day after the show (Tuesday, February 16). Operating hours will be 6:30 am to 7 pm on Tuesday and Wednesday; 6:30 am to 9 pm on Thursday; and 9 am. to 7 pm from Friday through Monday.
It would be nice to have these water taxi's on a regular basis, those and regular trolley service would be a big plus for the Grove.
posted by Tom Falco at 5:00 AM
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25 Comments:
I agree, having a permanent water taxi service would be a plus/plus for all of Miami and Coconut Grove. Miami, Miami Beach and the Village of Coconut Grove are all about water. People from around the world and our own community would probably see this service; along with the views; Biscayne Bay, Key Biscayne, the Port, Downtown Miami with service to our famous restaurants, etc, etc, etc., as exciting & an opportunity for a unique experience. Jobie Steppe
What would be the point of a dedicated water taxi service in the Grove other than being an interesting luxury for visitors? Most people would not do their daily commute that way here (as is done in other parts of the country like Jersey City,, Hoboken, NY area etc.) I already pay enough taxes to be in the Grove and these silly ideas are probably why I pay so much.
How could "a dedicated water taxi service" harm anyone? Why wouldn't some folks use such a service for daily commutes? What's wrong if such a service was "an interesting luxury for visitors"? Finally, what have your taxes got to do with this service, i.e., are you stating you know that this service is going to be paid for by taxpayers dollars similar to our Metro-Rail? Would it not be true you would also be stating Metro-Rail is bad for Miami; doesn't Metro-Rail provide a great service AND keep some cars off our streets?
Even Jacksonville, as terrible an armpit of America as it is, has a really nice reliable water taxi service that I've used several times going to sporting events there. It's one of the few nice things about that town.
Imagine the utility for Miami. Broward has regular water taxi service on the intracoastal, so it's clearly doable.
following my last comment, and for consideration: http://watertaxi.com/schedules/
A monthly pass on the NY waterway (which has a much higher population density of people without cars) is something around $300 if memory serves and is still barely profitable. How many people in Miami live and work close enough to a potential ferry terminal where they would use it every day? If you lived in center Grove would you walk all the way down to Dinner Key every morning to catch your ferry to Brickell when it's a 15 min drive?
It's a 15 minute drive now...wait until all the high rise condos are full and everyone is trying to go somewhere.
They should build corporate sponsored floating docks @ Miami in the future.
OMG people. What world do you live in? Economics 101. If there was sufficient sustainable demand for a profitable water taxi service in Miami, there would be one. All of the examples you have cited bear this out. The Boat Show is doing it out of necessity to placate all the NIMBYs on Key Biscayne.
omg what world do YOU live in? Maybe we're looking toward a future where we don't have to or want to sit in our cars for hours on end waiting for the next light to change...
12:51 PM is just keeping it real. While it really would be nice to have all these things, it all comes down to money, ridership, and demand.
The only place a water taxi would make sense is having weekend water taxi that goes from Downtown / Bayside to Miami Beach as an alternate to taking a bus or Uber.
Agreed that if a water taxi made economic sense, it would already exist.
But even if it made economic sense and a company tried to start one up, I'd have to break out the popcorn as the usual Grove activists went ballistic over permitting for construction of dedicated dock space for the service. There would be no end to the accusations of corruption, cronyism... you know, the usual stuff.
They can't even come up with 2 lousy Trolleys, as every village but the Grove has, and now people dreaming about "water taxis"?! How about free helicopter rides from City Hall? CI
Does Mr. Russell still read the Grapevine? If so, perhaps he would consider supporting the efforts to draft an RFP for a permanent Water Taxi Service.
Has anyone ever tried to get to Dinner Key during the art show? Let's hope they put the stop closer to Monty's.
Wow ~ I'm hysterical over some of these comments. Seems everything that makes economic sense has already been invented and is in operation.
Cars to Go was founded in 2008; Uber in 2009.
A Trolley in the Grove makes economic sense yet it isn't in operation yet.
Cars to Go just went out of business due to poor economics for it here in Miami. Case. In. Point.
Try sitting stuck in traffic on the MacArthur for the 100th time and then tell us that water taxis aren't needed. (Not counting during Art Basel or any of the other events.)
Having water taxis to go between various points in Miami and Miami Beach makes much more sense than the CapEx and OpEx of 'Baylink'.
Water taxis are needed far more during the week days than on the weekends.
Depends on your parking situation in Brickell. Also, traffic in the Brickell area is NOT a breeze--people may ride the ferry just to not have to deal with traffic!
Huh, the naysayers still haven't explained why it can't work here, when it works 20 miles up the road with lower population density and far less need.
"naysayers say nay!" - the most common comment on the grape
Actually, the most common type of comment on this blog is by someone full of ideas for how other people should spend their money. But those same people are usually the first to complain when an investor comes along to build something new.
If water taxis are such a great idea, then make the investment. But good luck dealing with the Grove activists when it comes time to construct adequate parking and dock space, among other needs. Oh, and good luck dealing with DERM when you're looking to get permits for the dock.
Water taxis at Dinner Key should be interesting, since we will probably be locked in by the Art Festival that weekend. Has that changed this year?
swlip,
you are possibly the most negative and divisive voice in the history of the grapevine. Congrats on that.
There are already docks, plenty of them all over town. All that is needed is agreements for usage.
Moreover, why can I not say that I think something could be a good idea unless I'm willing to spear-head it myself? I'm offering my opinion on the viability of the model, and supporting that with facts - why does that offend your delicate sensibilities so much.
Go back under your bridge.
Perhaps what you perceive as negativism is simply a desire for introspection among Grove activists. Do we really want change and innovation? Or would we rather just sit around and complain? Will "NIMBY" become our permanent rallying cry, or will we accept that we are part of a changing city that needs to lower barriers to entry for innovators while engaging civic leaders in a positive way?
Grape's post about Harry Gottlieb and the bicycle friendly bridge is a good example of how people can make a difference. But I think it's safe to say that Harry didn't achieve that by sitting around, complaining.
Getting past the ad hominem to the substance of your comment, I haven't seen anyone here put up statistics that would support the business model for a water taxi in the Grove. That's not to say that I wouldn't welcome such a service. I might even use it myself, from time to time (although I think that the idea of traveling to work or dinner in a fast boat sounds more attractive than what the reality would be).
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