State may be asked to fund county water transit network

Written by Miami Today on April 22, 2026

A request for state officials to pinpoint funds to launch a waterborne transportation network is being floated on April 23 before the Miami-Dade Transportation Planning Organization as new cross-bay commuter water taxis funded by Miami Beach show early success.

The resolution sponsored by Miami Beach Commissioner David Suarez points to a 2023 feasibility study fueled by the planning organization that targeted six preliminary routes “that could provide significant benefits.”

“Since the completion of these studies, Miami-Dade County has experienced increased growth, especially in terms of residents and visitors,” says a memo from planning organization Executive Director Aileen Bouclé to board members.

A waterborne transportation network throughout the waterways of Miami-Dade County may enhance mobility and provide a viable travel option for commuters, thereby alleviating traffic congestion,” the resolution up for a vote today says.

In November 2023, the Transportation Planning Organization authorized a nine-month, $110,000 study of waterborne transportation. The study’s cost was paid 80% by Federal Highway Administration planning funds and 20% by the local secondary gas tax. The waterborne transportation network plan is the result.

Hopes for a Miami-Dade boat network for commuter traffic to beat roadway congestion have long existed. County Commissioner Raquel Regalado noted at the time that the issue has been studied over and over.

In 2016, Miami-Dade began considering a water transit fleet to lessen roadway gridlock. That probe extended from transit via the water with a fixed schedule to water taxis. Even the term “water bus” was being used as the county examined all aspects of water transportation, from the size of vessels to fares to projected ridership. That study, in turn, was based on an earlier one from 2003.

Beyond the Transportation Planning Organization’s work, in 2024, after a year of investigation, Miami-Dade County’s Waterborne Transportation Feasibility Project Working Group, operating under the Office of the Mayor, reported progress on a potential waterborne transit network along the coastline as an added mobility option.

The county project began in October 2023 when a commission resolution ordered the mayor’s office to name a committee to investigate a waterborne transit system, requiring the group to analyze multiple potential transit stops, types of vehicles, and legislation needed to make the system float.

The report to the commission, released a year later, recommended that the county enact a waterborne transit program as a network system, with various stops and routes as opposed to simply one designated station, to accommodate the sheer range of water routes in Miami-Dade – 470 miles of waterways, 45 miles of coastline, and 220 square miles of water in Biscayne Bay. “More than one single facility is necessary to provide a comprehensive and sustainable operation,” the report stated.

The working group examined 14 potential sites for at least one form of water transportation, recommending 10 of them for transit stops: Haulover Marina, Sea Isle Marina, Sunset Harbour Marina, Chopin Plaza Dock, Miami Beach Marina, the eastern bulkheads of the Kaseya Center and the Pérez Art Museum Miami, the Florida East Coast rail slip, Resorts World Miami, and PortMiami.

The group plowed through seven types of water vehicles – boats, ferries, yachts, catamarans, seaplanes, seagliders, and airboats – to ensure each available stop could dock at least one of these modes.

This year Miami Beach, working on its own, began a free water taxi service that continues to increase in use, with hopes for expansion and funding from neighboring communities.

The taxis currently ply Biscayne Bay Monday through Friday from Miami Beach at Maurice Gibb Memorial Park to Miami at Venetian Marina & Yacht Club, sailing hourly from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and every 30 minutes from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Each vessel is about 40 feet long and designed to carry up to 55 passengers.