There are lots of benefits to not using your harbour as a toilet. While Olympic sailors are getting scared about Rio’s crappy water, Halifax’s clean harbour is enabling business start-ups. This summer saw the launch of two water-based cab companies—Harbour Water Taxi and Chebucto Water Taxi —and we went for a ride with both.
The business model is simple. As Archimedes basically said, the shortest distance between two docks is a straight line. And in a non-toilet harbour, it’s not the end of the world to get splashed a bit—it may even be preferred on a hot summer day. So while commuting between Bedford and downtown is a circuitous drag in a car, now it can be an aquatic adventure by water taxi. And McNabs Island, formerly so close and yet so far, is utterly accessible for tourists and locals alike.
Here’s our video report on the rise of the water taxi. Just be warned: After watching you’ll want to take a trip.
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This article appears in Aug 13-19, 2015.
Want more info on McNabs Island then contact the Friends of McNabs! @mcnabsisland info@mcnabsisland.ca. We cleanup those beautiful beaches, maintain and improve the 18 km of hiking trails, offer guided tours and much more!