Another public transit service linking Anna Maria Island to the mainland soon may make waves — literally.
Elliott Falcione, director of the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, told local officials at their Feb. 1 Manatee County Council of Governments meeting that a pilot program for a water taxi could launch by the end of May.
“This is an exciting time,” Falcione said. “We really want a service launch really no later than Memorial Day weekend. …It’s time to move this forward.”
Manatee County transit manager Bill Steele said the water taxi could become an important resource as major bridge and roadway projects, such as replacements for the Cortez Road and Manatee Avenue bridges, exacerbate traffic congestion to and from the island over the next decade.
Steele said the county must determine stops for the water taxi, but recommended the service begin by linking downtown Bradenton and at least two island cities.
The county conducted a study that found 60% of visitors who stay in downtown Bradenton also visit the island’s beaches, and providing alternative transportation could ease some congestion caused by those visitors, according to Falcione.
To launch the pilot program, the county must issue an invitation to negotiate with interested private vendors and formalize partnerships with interested cities so taxi stops can be determined.
Manatee County public works director Chad Butzow said he hoped to issue the ITN by the end of the week.
Falcione said he’d spoken with every mayor in the county except Longboat Key Mayor Ken Schneier about the water taxi and that county commissioners “wholeheartedly support” the idea.
He added that every city would have its own preferences for the service, but urged officials to find a balance so the project could effectively move forward.
“We’re moving as aggressively as possible, but we cannot do this alone,” county administrator Scott Hopes said. “It’s going to take a partnership.”
County Commissioner Misty Servia said she is “so excited” the concept is moving forward and enthusiastic about launching a trial program.
“I like the idea of doing something new at a slow pace to identify the challenges and correct them before we expand it,” Servia said.
Bradenton Beach Mayor John Chappie said the city has plans to expand its floating dock at the Historic Bridge Street Pier that would well serve as a landing for a water taxi.
He added that he knows a vendor that is “very interested and very serious” in partnering with the county to provide the taxi, but did not provide a name.
Paradise Boat Tours general manager Sherman Baldwin, whose business operates from the Historic Bridge Street Pier, was previously approved to operate a shuttle between the pier and downtown Sarasota.
Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy wrote favorably of a water taxi in a Feb. 3 email to The Islander, saying it would reduce traffic.
Without a tourist destination like the piers in Anna Maria and Bradenton Beach, Holmes Beach might be the odd one out, according to Mayor Judy Titsworth.
“They have not approached me on a location in Holmes Beach,” Titsworth told The Islander Feb. 2.
She said the county may bypass the city by using Kingfish Boat Ramp — which is operated by the county — as a taxi stop, but hoped the county would provide a shelter in case people get stuck at the ramp during inclement weather.
Titsworth added that she wants to see more data showing the water taxi’s impact on traffic congestion before she supports a partnership with the county.