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for immediate release
Jan. 16, 2026
—Ceremony to take place on Tuesday, Jan. 20 at 7:30 a.m. —
Miami Beach, FL – In addition to its longstanding complimentary trolley service, the City of Miami Beach will inaugurate its new free commuter-based water taxi service between Sunset Harbour and downtown Miami on Tuesday, Jan. 20. The service will commence operations at 8:30 a.m. following a 7:30 a.m. launch ceremony at the Maurice Gibb Memorial Park dock at 1790 Purdy Ave.
“I am proud to lead this initiative as we finally utilize our greatest natural asset, our waterways, to provide a reliable alternative for commuters,” said Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner. “This free service is a critical piece of the seamless transit network I have envisioned for our residents, bridging our trolleys and Freebee service to enhance mobility. While we are starting in Sunset Harbour, we continue to explore expanding our water corridor service, including connecting South Beach to North Beach.”
The free water taxi service will operate from the docks at Maurice Gibb Memorial Park at 1790 Purdy Ave. in the Sunset Harbour neighborhood of Miami Beach and the Venetian Marina and Yacht Club (also known as Sea Isle Marina) at 1635 North Bayshore Drive on the Miami side of Biscayne Bay.
Water taxis proved to be a hit among the tens of thousands of attendees who visited Art Week Miami Beach for the past two years. The service will be operated by Water Taxi of Miami Beach, LLC.
The vessels will run approximately every 60 minutes on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and every 30 minutes on weekdays from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The service will not initially operate on weekends. The 40-foot vessels can each hold a maximum of 55 passengers.
In addition to Miami-Dade County Transit buses, Miami Beach will continue to operate its free trolley system throughout the city as well as its free on-demand transit service in parts of Mid Beach and North Beach through a partnership with Freebee to provide seamless transit connections to the water taxi.
Officials anticipate a potential future north-south expansion of the water taxi service along the western portion of the city and service along Indian Creek waterway contingent on additional funding.
For more information, visit www.miamibeachfl.gov/water-taxi.
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