Water taxi service may expand

A request to build a dock at Waterfront Park could change the way tourists and residents cross Charleston harbor.

Or at least that's the hope of the two men who run Charleston Water Taxi and officials who want to change that area of the city's waterfront.

Charleston's Parks and Capital Projects Department applied for a permit from federal regulators for a floating dock that would allow the privately owned taxi service to operate at the end of the park.

Charleston Water Taxi currently loops about 10 times daily between the Charleston Harbor Marina at Patriots Point and nearby hotels in Mount Pleasant and the Charleston Maritime Center, near the South Carolina Aquarium downtown. A round-trip fare for the seasonal service costs $8.

The additional stop would drop off and pick up passengers in the heart of the historic district.

Charleston Mayor Joe Riley said city officials took interest in the idea both for the environmental benefit of increasing mass-transit options and the opportunity to showcase the local waterfront. City leaders first considered the service before they began working with the State Ports Authority on a new design for the nearby cruise terminal and its surrounding acreage.

"It may be that the passenger terminal study will produce another and better option," Riley said. "In any event we are very much committed to increasing water taxi service."

The city would pay for the dock, according to Riley. He said timing would depend on financing for the dock installation, estimated at about $150,000.

Chip Deaton, one of the taxi's owners, said he hopes to see the service up by next summer. With it, he expects higher passenger volume and a shift away from the tourist-heavy traffic to a closer split with local passengers.

After Waterfront Park, Charleston Water Taxi hopes to expand to Daniel Island, according to Deaton's business partner, Scott Connelly. From there the two men have their sights set on Mount Pleasant's Memorial Waterfront Park and a stop in North Charleston.

They plan to launch a more traditional taxi service on a separate boat that will ferry passengers to locations at their request.

"When we first started all we wanted to do was mass transportation," Connelly said. "We wanted to help alleviate some of the traffic problems and be a business on the water."

Reach Allyson Bird at 937-5594 or abird@postandcourier.com.