Water taxis a ‘glaring omission’

The lack of any proposal for water taxis in the new Cork transport strategy is “extraordinary,” a local councillor has said.

Fine Gael Cllr Deirdre Forde said, that while she welcomed the Cork Metropolitan Area Transport Strategy (CMATS), the absence of plans for a water taxi system were a “glaring omission”.

“I’m not against the light rail plan, I think it’s wonderful, but it’s extraordinary that an element which is so successful in places like Brisbane in Australia has been omitted. It’s a no-brainer,” she said.

Speaking to the Cork Independent, Douglas-based Cllr Forde said a system used by Brisbane City Council, which operates a fleet of 21 CityCats, made 3.6 million trips in 2018. She said a similar system could be explored to make use of Cork Harbour and the River Lee and provide a sustainable way of solving commuter gridlock on Cork roads.

“They are run on solar panels, as well as being sustainable they have no noise and pollutants, and they can be delivered much quicker than light rail.

“They could be used by people going to work from one side to the other with floating terminals in areas like Passage West, Ringaskiddy, Crosshaven, Little Island, Blackrock Castle. We’ve such a beautiful harbour, why not use it?”

NTA Deputy Chief Executive Hugh Creegan admitted the water taxi concept had not come up when the transport plan was put together, but said it could be considered as part of the consultation process.

Cork-based architect Karl Shane Dískín said the lack of plans for water taxis was a “real oversight".

“If you look at places around Europe, even London, they’re building water-based networks. There’s a lot to be said for recognising the assets you have, and developing solutions based on what we have as a city, especially when so many people living opposite sides have to jump in their cars when our waterfronts could be linked.”