Cruising for a Taxi

Shout "Taxi! Taxi" in Fort Lauderdale, and look for your ship to come in.

Actually, you'll be catching a water bus or water taxi, depending on your point of view, since the original fleet of water taxis has been replaced by water buses carrying up to 70 passengers. Either way, they're floating "cabs" that you can "hail" along the Intracoastal Waterway and New River.

For sightseeing, the water-taxi-cum-bus can pick you up at any of several docking spots along the intracoastal or New River, and you can stop off at attractions like the Performing Arts Center, the Museum of Discovery & Science, Stranahan House, or the Gallery at Beach Place. For lunch, sail away to restaurants on Las Olas Boulevard or Las Olas Riverfront. As the sun disappears, water taxis are a superb way to head out for dinner or bar-hop, letting your pilot play the sober role of designated driver.

The water-transport venture was started by Bob Bekoff, a longtime Broward resident and outspoken tourism promoter, who decided to combine the need for transportation with one of the area's most captivating features: miles of waterways that make Fort Lauderdale the Venice of America.

Some seasons ago, Water Taxi and Broward County Mass Transit partnered to create Water Bus, with larger ecofriendly electric ferries, phasing out the original motley fleet. Since then, Bekoff and county power brokers have parted company, with the water bus fleet now operating on a private basis. You can still ride all you want with a day pass from 10:30 AM to 12:30 AM for $11. Family all-day passes for two adults and up to four youths are $35, and after 7 PM passes are $8. Annual passes are $150. A dozen or so scheduled stops include the Bahia Mar, the Gallery at Beach Place, Galleria Mall, Seville Street, Pier 66, the Convention Center, and the historic Downtowner Saloon. The South Beach shuttle, a socko day-trip to the Art Deco District of Miami Beach ($19 Tuesday only), leaves Fort Lauderdale at 8:45 AM and Hollywood at 10 AM, returning to Hollywood at 5:45 PM and to Fort Lauderdale at 7 PM. For family reunions and such, group tours like the Sunset Cruise, Great River Safari, and Mansions and Marinas are on tap. To get around town by Water Bus, call 954/467-6677 about 20 minutes ahead of when you want to be picked up, or check out the schedule at www.watertaxi.com.