Commuter Boats to the Wharf Start Oct. 12
By • September 28, 2017 0 615
A new commuting service by boat from Georgetown will begin Thursday, Oct. 12, when Potomac Riverboat Company adds an hourly high-speed water-taxi service from the Georgetown waterfront to D.C.’s District Wharf. The new entertainment, restaurant, residential and office complex officially opens that day.
“The water-taxi trip will take about 25 minutes each way to and from Georgetown and the Southwest Waterfront district,” said Lisa McClure, Potomac Riverboat’s sales manager, at a Georgetown Business Association reception on Sept. 20. “It will run seven days a week between March and December depending on weather conditions, from around 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Later-evening service will probably be made available for special events. Up to 10 daily departures at each location may take place during peak times.”
The new water taxis were designed in the U.K. and built by Louisiana-based Metal Shark. They are fuel-efficient and have a low environmental impact, according to Potomac Riverboat. Most important, they generate low wakes — a crucial factor in the Georgetown part of the river, where there are numerous rowing crews, canoers, kayakers, paddleboarders and the like.
Two more boats will be added in March to run between the Wharf and National Harbor in Maryland. Water taxis already go from the Georgetown waterfront to Alexandria, Virginia, where there are regular commuter boats to National Harbor. The new water-taxi operation is expected to create more than 100 jobs and carry 300,000 people, both tourists and commuters, to and from the Wharf each year, according to Potomac Riverboat, now owned by Entertainment Cuises.
