BALTIMORE — Let's say Pratt Street is backed up, and you want to get from Federal Hill to Canton.
You can roll the dice behind the wheel. Or, you could turn to the Baltimore Water Taxi; this year, it's launching a new on-demand service, allowing riders to request a boat directly from their phones.
The direct service operates from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m; riders can send a request through the 'Transigo' app to travel anywhere the Water Taxi's boats can go. Current parameters include destinations like Fells Point, the Inner Harbor and Fort McHenry.
"We're still in a pilot phase right now, technology pilot phase, so it's $1 for a ride and $1 each additional person, we figure we share the love a little bit, get people on board," Mike McDaniel said.
McDaniel is the CEO of Harbor Boating Inc; he recently bought the Baltimore Water Taxi back from Under Armour founder Kevin Plank.
"It feels great. I never thought that wasn't on my bingo card to, to own the Water Taxi again," McDaniel laughed.
Water Taxi rolling on-demand service on app in Baltimore
McDaniel, a Marine Corps vet, owned the Taxi in 2010 and sold it to Plank in 2016.
"The bug was there. I loved [sailing]. I knew I, whenever I got out of the Marine Corps, I wanted to make a career in it," McDaniel said.
The water taxi has been around for a little over 50 years. It operates the free Harbor Connector and the paid Trolley, which entered its season this month.
The service plans to expand its reach in the future.
"We have every intention to going out to Baltimore Peninsula, kind of an underserved in the maritime side of the house, and then eventually we're looking to get those purpose-built boats to go past the Key Bridge. And then maybe set up in some other territories, in and around the Chesapeake Bay, Baltimore," McDaniel said.
The water taxi is preparing for an eventful summer, including the 4th of July, private charters and even a Preakness watch party with TVs on the boat.
