If everything goes as planned, Jacksonville’s water taxis could be ferrying passengers back and forth across the St. Johns River as early as next weekend.
Right now it’s all about the paperwork, say Jacksonville city officials. A purchase agreement between boat seller Trident Pontoons and water taxi buyer Harry Frisch is still being finalized.
Once it’s signed, Frisch, who owns Beaver Street Fisheries, will lease the two boats to the city for a dollar a day. Once the lease agreement is signed, the city will be able to finalize a deal with Multi Marine to run the water taxis for six months while a permanent operator is sought.
But regardless of when the paperwork gets done, the boats can’t start carrying passengers until the U.S. Coast Guard has signed off on them. The city is hoping those inspections will happen sometime next week.
There hasn’t been water taxi service between Jacksonville’s north and south banks since early June when the Baltimore-based company operating the boats decided it had had enough.
The mayor gave Trident Pontoons nearly $340,000 from the city’s emergency fund for two new water taxis, but the city commission balked at the expenditure.
Harry Frisch’s offer to buy the boats and lease them to the city ended the stalemate.
You can follow Cyd Hoskinson @cydwjctnews.
