CLEVELAND — Within the next week, people in Northeast Ohio will have a new way to explore some of the area's most popular hot spots — especially those along the water.
The Cuyahoga River is a beauty — especially on a summer day. When it comes to getting around, most people think of driving or using rideshares. But now, the river is becoming a transportation option, too.
Living in the Flats, Samantha Didion gets to enjoy the perks of riverside living.
“Well, I pay for the parking garage here at the flats, and that helps me out a lot. Other than that, I do a lot of walking,” said Didion.
But when friends come to visit, parking is either unavailable or overpriced, rideshares are expensive, and the existing Metroparks Water Taxi is inconsistent.
“I feel like the hours on that one are little hit or miss,” said Didion.
That’s about to change with the launch of the new Cleveland Water Taxi.
“The Cleveland Water Taxi has a hop on, hop off, means of transportation that we're recently launching here in Cleveland,” said owner Brittany Orlando.
We sat down — or in this case, glided along the river — with Orlando. She usually operates tiki boats but came up with the water taxi idea after seeing how hard it is for people to move from east to west — or even north to south — around the city.
“So, I think our waterway is super underutilized. Being in the industry for six years now, like I said, we have a lot of guests that want to get over to the other side,” said Orlando.
The water taxi will run seven days a week, weather permitting, from 10:30 a.m. to midnight, with extended or flexible hours during major events and on weekdays.
“Conventions when they're in town, a lot of peoples’ biggest complaint for visitors is limited transportation options,” said Orlando.
Initial stops will include the Flats East Bank, Flats West Bank, BrewDog and Collision Bend — a development that Collision Bend's general manager, Michael Grano, is excited about.
“It's just going to make everything down here super accessible. The other fun thing is it’s going to make it easy to bounce around to a few different places,” said Grano.
The goal is to make transportation easier for residents like Samantha and also to provide a fun, new way to show off Cleveland.
“Get them to come to Cleveland a little bit more, explore the city and not have to pay some of those crazy prices,” said Didion.
The official launch of the Cleveland Water Taxi is July 29. Riders will be able to track the taxi via their phones.
While a few core stops are confirmed, additional locations — including North Coast Harbor, the Port of Cleveland, Edgewater Beach and Wendy Park — are still pending.
And this is just the beginning. Brittany hopes to expand hours and add more boats in the future.
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