Water Taxi Miami looking to expand

After adding a new stop at Purdy Avenue this year, Water Taxi Miami is looking to expand its water-borne transportation service by adding new stops in Brickell and Brickell Key.

“We added a new stop at Purdy Avenue earlier this year during the beginning of 2017,” said Jessica Hernandez, manager at Water Taxi Miami. “Right now, we have several locations in the process of being reviewed, but are primarily hoping to add new locations in Brickell Key and Brickell.”

On July 27, Miami city commissioners designated a site on Brickell Key for water taxi service, while the Miami River Commission continues to lobby Miami-Dade County to identify potential water taxi stops on the river.

However, she said, the process of obtaining new stops isn’t easy and takes a long time to gain approval from the city.

Looking forward, though, she said, these new stops would add to the water taxi’s yellow, green and blue routes, providing guests with more transportation options.

Currently, Water Taxi Miami’s yellow route provides daily service to Bayside Marketplace at 401 Biscayne Blvd. with pickup times at 11 a.m., 2 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m. and 5 p.m.

Water Taxi Miami’s green route, on the other hand, is offered via request, with stops at Miami Beach Marina, Virginia Key, Bayside Miami and the Hyatt Regency Hotel in downtown Miami. Lastly, Water Taxi Miami’s blue route, which runs only weekends, stops at Bayside Marketplace, Miami Beach, Purdy Avenue and Sea Isle Marina with times ranging from 10:45 a.m. to 6 p.m.

As for the water taxi’s current number of boats and fares, Ms. Hernandez said, “we have three commercial vessels that can accommodate up to 38 people and have approximately six fares a day, 180 fares per month and 2,000 fares a year.”

A large portion of those fares, she said, are attributed to the water taxi’s ‘fun’ and ‘unique’ bar hops, island hops, Halloween bar crawls and discounts.

“We currently have a bar hop at night,” Ms. Hernandez told Miami Today, “which takes guests to American Social on the river, Whiskey Joe’s on Key Biscayne and Mike’s in downtown Miami.”

The water taxi’s island hop allows guests to jump on different islands and spend the day exploring areas such as the Picnic Islands, just north of Biscayne Island in Biscayne Bay.

As for celebrating the Halloween season, Ms. Hernandez said, “our Halloween bar crawl is very popular and a lot fun. We shuttle guests from one location to another, offer them a welcome drink and stop along the way at Mambo’s, Whiskey Joe’s and American Social and head back to Bayside, where guests can go to the Mojito Bar.”

Another way the water taxi attracts a lot of its guests, Ms. Hernandez said, is through its discounts.

“Currently, we offer discounts for locals, military personnel, police officers and firefighters,” she said, “and we also offer a discount for guests who purchase an all-day pass and have a partnership with the Miami Heat, where guests who purchase a ticket during one of the home games can jump on the water taxi and head to the AmericanAirlines Arena for a discounted price.”

Looking forward, she said, “We hope to add new stops and continue adding to our different routes so that we can offer guests more transportation options.”