JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018 • FOGHORN 15 FOGHORNFOCUS: SALES & MARKETING economy, congested waterways can lead to its own challenges. Can you elaborate on this phenomenon and what operators need to consider? Waterway congestion has become a major issue, especially in urban areas. As waterways become more commer- cialized, the expansion in users, par- ticularly inexperienced unregulated users, increases the risk for water taxis. In Chicago, for example, we believe kayaking on the Chicago River is comparable to bicycle riding on the expressway. It can be dangerous for the kayaker and the other users of the waterway. I believe the creation and participation in a local harbor safety committee is the best forum to alleviate the increased risk of operating on a congested waterway. Congestion also needs to be considered when pub- lishing a water taxi route schedule. KPFF LEGEND 5 6 7 405 90 5 5 522 518 509 522 405 99 BOTHELL WOODINVILLE KIRKLAND SEATTLE BELLEVUE MERCER ISLAND WEST SEATTLE BURIEN RENTON LAKE FOREST PARK NEWCASTLE SEATAC NORMANDY PARK DES MOINES KENMORE ELLIOTT BAY LA KE W AS HI N GT O N BALLARD 167 15th Ave NW 99 NE 45th St Madison St 100th Ave NE Pacific Hwy S NE 8th St S 200th St 509 520 520 523 169 405 90 99 99 Bellevue Way NE 90 NE 85th St REDMOND 5 Ri ch ar ds Rd 148th Ave NE NE 70th St NE 124th St 6th St S NE 132nd St Juanita Dr NE Ju a n it a W o o d in v il le W a y N E S im o n s R d N E Veterans Dr Amba um Blvd SW 515 900 900 SW Grady Way Logan Ave N Edmonds Ave NE SE 192nd St 140th Ave SE SE Petrovitsky Rd 513 UW WAC 1 2 3 4 5 7 6 PIER 50 5 PIER 50 Potential Landing Sites Routes 1 Kenmore (Log Boom Park) to UW WAC 2 Kenmore (Log Boom Park) to Bellevue Marina 3 Kirkland (Marina Park) to UW 4 Bellevue (Marina) to UW WAC 5 Renton to Bellevue (Marina) 6 Des Moines (Marina) to Pier 5 7 Ballard (Marina) to Pier 50 1601 Fifth Avenue, Suite 1600 Seattle, WA 98101 Mike Anderson | Director KPFF Marine Transit Consulting Mike.Anderson@kpff.com 206.498.5438 www.kpff.com KPFF is an Equal Opportunity Employer » Project & Program Management » Strategic, Systems & Route Planning » Safety, Security & Emergency Management » Transportation Planning » Terminal Design & Construction Management » Customer/Community Relations » Operations Analysis » Vessel Acquisition Support NYC EDC 2013 Citywide Ferry Study, 2017 Operational Assessment, 2017-2022 Ferry System Consulting KING COUNTY MARINE DIVISION 2013-ongoing Marine Transportation Program Planning STATEN ISLAND FERRY 2015 Fleet Assessment, 2016 Diagnostic Review, 2017 Midtown Ferry Study Since 2008 we have worked with over 35 ferry operators and transportation agencies across the U.S. and internationally, providing services related to all aspects of ferry system operations and planning. Image courtesy of NYC Ferry MARINE TRANSIT CONSULTING GROUP the public interest. Also, private operators should consider the existing market and com- petition. Many successful water taxis have been started by existing passenger vessel operations in the tours and cruises space, and then branched out into water taxis. This is advantageous because these companies already have the personnel, familiarity, and infra- structure in place. It also allows for the tours and cruises to “subsidize” the water taxi startup. In certain cities it may be make more sense to focus on tourist attractions first, where ticket prices can be higher, than on commuters and start out with very limited routes than slowly expand. Finally, cold weather offseasons can be major drag on water taxi ridership, and even operators with climate- controlled vessels may find lags in ridership during the spring due to the winter shut down. Humans are creatures of habit, and land transpor- tation (bus, train) tickets are usually packaged in 31-day time frames and purchased in advance. If a water taxi operator has an offseason, they should consider starting their season on the first of the month to avoid overlap with monthly train and bus passes, and to make marketing their start dates easier. Chicago Water Taxi has found that ridership is stronger in early December than early March due to the fact that in December our riders are in the habit of taking the vessel and are reluctant to change modes of transit until we shut down. It should also be noted that in coastal ports, most ferry and water taxi services do operate year-round, sometimes with more limited schedules due to the lack of tourists. In Chicago, the winter ice on the Chicago River prevents reliable transit service during the winter months and Chicago Water Taxi has a three-month offseason. What are the issues that someone who is thinking about introducing a water taxi should know? For example, in many markets waterfront areas are very popular and attract a lot of attention from businesses, tourists, locals, devel- opers, etc. While this is good for the local