thumb|Royal Daffodil ship in [[Liverpool, Mersey Ferry]]
thumb|right|Water Bus in Tigre, Buenos Aires
thumb|Water taxis parked at Labadie Beach, Haiti
thumb|right|Water Taxis, Cowes, Isle of Wight
thumb|right|Water bus in Cardiff
thumb|right|Water taxi meets water bus in Rotterdam
thumb|right|Water bus in [[Bydgoszcz, Poland]]
thumb|right|Water taxi in Auckland
thumb|right|A pair of water taxis operating on the waterfront of Boston
thumb|right|A water taxi operating on the waterfront in [[Puerto Ayora, Galapagos Island of Santa Cruz.]]
alt=A yellow water taxi on the water between stone quaysides. The far bank has large buildings and in the distance is a three arch bridge.|thumb|right|Water bus in Bristol Harbour
thumb|right|Abra in Dubai
right|thumb|New York Water Taxi
thumb|right|Tokyo Water bus
A water taxi or a water bus is a boat used to provide public or private transport, usually, but not always, in an urban environment. Service may be scheduled with multiple stops, operating in a similar manner to a bus, or on demand to many locations, operating in a similar manner to a taxi. A boat service shuttling between two points would normally be described as a ferry rather than a water bus or taxi.
The term water taxi is usually confined to a boat operating on demand, and water bus to a boat operating on a schedule. In North American usage, the terms are roughly synonymous.
The earliest water taxi service was recorded as operating around the area that became Manchester, England.
Locations
Cities and other places operating water buses and/or taxis include:
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- Alapuzha Water Taxi
- Auckland
- Bahrain
- Bangkok
- Chao Phraya Express Boat
- Khlong Saen Saep boat service
- Khlong Phadung Krung Kasem boat service
- Khlong Phasi Charoen boat service
- Bremen
- Brisbane
- CityCat
- CityFerry
- Brunei
- Buenos Aires, Tigre
- Cap-Haïtien, Haiti (at Labadee beach)
- Cape Town
- Caye Caulker
- Davao City
- Davao water taxi service
- Dhaka
- Buriganga River water bus
- Hatirjheel water taxi
- Dubai
- Abras
- RTA water taxis (recently introduced)
- Galápagos Islands
- Guangzhou, China
- Halifax Regional Municipality
- Ho Chi Minh City
- Saigon Waterbus
- Hong Kong
- Cheung Chau, Chi Ma Wan, Peng Chau, Silvermine Bay
- Sun Ferry
- Sha Lo Wan, Tai O, Tuen Mun, Tung Chung (Urmston Road, Hong Kong)
- Istanbul
- Karachi
- Kobe
- Kochi
- Kochi Water Metro
- Lorient
- Malta
- Dghajsa
- Manila
- Pasig River Ferry Service
- Mumbai (Catamarans and ferries)
- New Zealand
- Niigata
- Nur-Sultan
- Osaka
- Osaka Suijō Bus
- Panama
- San Martín de los Andes
- Seoul
- Shizuoka
- Singapore (Singapore River)
- Sydney
- Timișoara
- Tokyo
- Tokyo Cruise Ship
- Tokyo Mizube Line
- Toronto
- Toronto water taxis
- Trinidad
- Water Taxi Service, Port of Spain to San Fernando – service implemented in December 2008
- Trogir
- Victoria, British Columbia
- Victoria Harbour
- Vancouver
- The Aquabus
- Coastal Link Ferries
- English Bay Launch
- False Creek Ferries
- Granville Island Water Taxi Services (defunct)
- SeaBus
- Venice
- Gondola
- Vaporetto
- Walt Disney World
- Wellington
- Ferries in Wellington
- Winnipeg
- Xochimilco, Mexico City
- Chalupa
- Yokohama
- Keihin Ferry Boat
- The Port Service
Europe
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- Amsterdam
- Antwerp
- Berlin (see: :de:Fährverkehr in Berlin)
- Bordeaux
- Boats BatCub
- Bristol
- Bristol Ferry Boats
- Brussels
- Bucharest
- Budapest
- Bydgoszcz, Poland
- Cardiff
- Cardiff Waterbus
- Copenhagen
- Copenhagen Harbour Buses
- Gdańsk
- Geneva
- Mouettes Genevoises
- Gothenburg
- Älvsnabben ferry
- Paddan
- Hamburg
- HADAG
- Helsinki
- Hertford
- Kragerø and surrounding area, Norway
- Kristiansund, Norway
- Leeds
- Lisbon
- Transtejo & Soflusa
- London
- London River Services
- Uber Boat by Thames Clippers
- Marseille
- Moscow
- Moscow Regular River Transport
- Nantes
- Navibus
- Oslo
- NBDS
- Oslo-Fergene
- Paris
- Batobus
- Voguéo
- Potsdam, Germany
- Rotterdam/Dordrecht
- Saint Petersburg
- Aquabus
- Spalding (River Welland)
- Stockholm
- Tallinn
USA
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- Alexandria, Virginia
- Annapolis, Maryland
- Baltimore
- Baltimore Water Taxi
- Boston
- Charleston
- Chicago
- Erie, Pennsylvania
- Presque Isle Water Taxi
- Fort Lauderdale
- Jacksonville, Florida
- Jacksonville Water Taxi
- Lake Ozark, Missouri
- Laughlin, Nevada and Bullhead City, Arizona
- Long Beach, California
- Long Beach Transit
- National Harbor, Maryland
- New York City
- Liberty Water Taxi
- New York Water Taxi
- NYC Ferry
- New Orleans - Baton Rouge, Louisiana: Mississippi River from mouth to Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Belle Chasse Marine, Port Ship Service, Crescent Ship Service and Weber Marine.
- Oklahoma City
- Orlando, Florida
- Sacramento
- San Francisco
- SF Water Taxi
- Seattle
- King County Water Taxi
- Tampa
- Pittsburgh
- Plymouth
- Portland, Maine
- Quad Cities, Illinois/Iowa
{|
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|thumb|Water taxi in San Martín de los Andes||thumb|Water taxi near the train station, Grand Canal, Venice||thumb|[[Vaporetto and bus stops in Venice]]
|}
On demand water taxis are also commonly found in marinas, harbours and cottage areas, providing access to boats and waterfront properties that are not directly accessible by land.
Incidents
On March 6, 2004, a water taxi on the Seaport Taxi service operated by the Living Classrooms Foundation capsized during a storm on the Patapsco River, near Baltimore's Inner Harbor. A total of five passengers died in the accident, which the National Transportation Safety Board determined was caused by insufficient stability when the small pontoon-style vessel encountered strong winds and waves. The company no longer operates water taxi vessels in Baltimore harbor.
See also
- Duffy-Herreshoff watertaxi
- Ferry, including hydrofoil, catamaran and hovercraft
- Klotok
- Moskvitch-class motorship - Soviet "water tramway"
- Pleasure barge
- Rower woman
- Ship's tender