The City’s two water taxi operators, which launched Port-sanctioned service in 2012, are profitable enough to want to increase the size of their fleets and number of landing sites this year. Gerry Roybal, maritime marketing manager for the Port, indicated strong interest in adding a landing site next to The Ramp restaurant, located at 855 Terry Francois Boulevard, which would sit across from 12 acres slated for construction of the Golden State Warriors arena. Water taxis rely on smaller boats than ferries; 60 feet or under.
According to Aaron Golbus, manager of Port operations for water taxis, the Pier 15 landing site, next to the Exploratorium, is “basically ready to be open,” but the Port needs to complete paperwork so that it can take charge of its operation and maintenance. Sheila Chandor, Pier 39 harbormaster, said the pier expects San Francisco Water Taxi, LLC’s (SFWT) landing site to open this spring.
SFWT and Tideline Marine Group, Inc. run boats along the Port’s seven and a half miles of waterfront. SFWT operates like a bus, offering regular hop-on/hop-off service for a daylong pass, with stops at Pier 1.5 – the Ferry Building – Pier 40, and the Hyde Street Pier. Tideline provides an on-call service, stopping at the same three points as well as Treasure Island, the St. Francis Yacht Club, and spots in Marin and the East Bay. SWFT’s prices range from $5 to $15; Tideline’s start at roughly $35. According to Roybal, last year the operators contributed less than $11,000 to the Port’s general operating fund.
Captain Dave Thomas, SFWT’s owner, said he’d like to offer on-call service and a Treasure Island stop. “We’ve got two boats on the Bay right now, but I have been buying boats. I have six boats right now, all in different boatyards having things done to them. One day it’s going to be a perfect storm, where we’ll have more boats than passengers. Then we can think of expressing people over to Angel Island,” said Thomas.
“We’re trying to begin a commuter service going from Berkeley to San Francisco where we stop at the Ferry Building,” said Nathan Nayman, Tideline’s president. “We’ve had conversations with representatives of the Warriors and UCSF about getting a water taxi over there. We’ve talked with Lennar about getting a boat over to the Shipyard to take residents to the Ferry Building. We’ve also been in conversation with a number of information technology companies in the South Bay. There seems to be a demand to have stops in Redwood City and at Moffett Field.”
Nayman said Tideline has three boats running. “We’re hoping as the business grows to add to the fleet,” he said.
Ellen Johnck, chairman of the Maritime Commerce Advisory Committee, which advocates for the City’s maritime industries, said the committee is interested in placing landing sites at Anchor Steam’s planned expansion at Pier 48 and other Southside piers. “Whoever has a pier, we would (be interested) in reserving space for landing sites for water taxis. We’re updating our waterfront plan. We will have nine meetings this year,” said Johnck.
“We are very much interested in transportation by water and agree with the Port that the vision includes water taxis,” said P.J. Johnston, spokesperson for the Warriors.
“We are fully in support of the Port’s exciting initiative to expand water taxi service along the Bay,” Fran Weld, vice president of strategy and development for the San Francisco Giants, said. “Already, between five and ten percent of fans take ferries to the ballpark depending on the time of year. We look forward to seeing increased water access to the ballpark and our growing South Beach, Mission Bay communities.”
“I think that better water transportation will be part of the transportation plan,” said J.R. Eppler, Potrero Boosters president. “The Boosters have been advocating for additional transportation services on the eastern waterfront for quite a while.”
According to Alice Rogers, vice president of the South Beach Rincon Mission Bay Neighborhood Association, her organization hasn’t discussed the expansion of water taxi service. “I’m personally all-in for water taxis, especially the service that is trying to give low cost rides to points along our waterfront on a regular schedule,” said Rogers, who added that she’d enjoy dining at The Ramp and catching a water taxi home.
Patrick Valentino, South Beach Mission Bay Merchants’ Association president, said that additional landing sites in the Southside would help build retail corridors. “When you get people coming off a water taxi, hopefully they’re walking somewhere. When you know you’ve got foot traffic, you can put retail in between. You’ve got more opportunities for retail places to be successful,” said Valentino. “It’s just like Jack London Square over in Oakland. You see people go there because there’s a cluster of things to do.”
Valentino said foot traffic generated by water taxis could encourage restaurant and retail activity in Mission Bay, including to a retail center being developed across from Pier 40 at 101 Townsend Street, and to ground floor retail space at Townsend and Second streets close to the CalTrain station. He said additional landing sites could also serve the industrial waterfront, which stretches for a mile south of AT&T Park to The Ramp. “It’s a very interesting place to be. There are offices there, but it’s hard to get there,” said Valentino.
“Water taxis have a very low environmental impact on the water and no new impact on the shoreline. They’re using existing piers. They add a transportation alternative to (places) that are very congested on land,” said David Lewis, executive director of nonprofit Save the Bay.
Carolyn Horgan, president of Blue & Gold Fleet, Inc., which operates large excursion boats from its base at Pier 41, said she was initially unclear on how water taxis would work along the waterfront. She’s become less concerned over the past two years because there’s been no accidents between water taxis and excursion boats. There’s also been a minimal effect on her business’s revenue. “We like to encourage all water transportation because we certainly need it,” said Horgan.
Golbus said entities interested in having a landing site should be mind ful that such facilities are meant to be functional. The Exploratorium has a number of interactive exhibits around its campus, but the water taxi landing site couldn’t be as creative. “You don’t build landings like that artistically. You build them structurally,” said Golbus.
