Quick Take
The Santa Cruz Port District is eyeing a pilot project to determine whether enough people are interested and would use its water taxi service beyond its current hours as locals continue to adjust to the closure of the Murray Street Bridge thoroughfare.
The Santa Cruz Port District is planning a trial run for extending its water taxi hours beyond just the weekends as city residents, harbor patrons and business owners continue to adjust to the full closure of the Murray Street Bridge.
The bridge connecting the Seabright neighborhood to the Live Oak area has been fully closed since June 23 and is expected to remain so until at least February 2026. The westbound lane has been closed since the start of construction in March and will stay closed throughout the entire three-year project.
The closure has raised concerns over traffic congestion along other main cross-county roads like Soquel Avenue, Water Street and Broadway. Both harbor businesses and establishments in the surrounding neighborhoods were nervous about dwindling patronage even with just one direction shut down, and the full closure exacerbated those concerns.
As businesses and locals continue to adjust, the port district is interested in how many people would opt to take the water taxi if it were available throughout the week rather than just weekends, holidays and Thursday evenings. It currently runs from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends and 5 to 9 p.m. on Thursday evenings during beach barbecues at The Crow’s Nest restaurant.
Port Director Holland MacLaurie said the port district is aware of interest surrounding extending the water taxi hours. District staff have thought about the idea, too, and believe that expanding service “could provide a value.”
Ultimately, she said, the port district has decided to begin planning a trial run for extended water taxi hours.
If implemented, the water taxi would run the same route it does now, stopping at the X dock in the north harbor, down the west side to the AA dock, and back over to the east side at the launch ramp.
MacLaurie said details are still being worked out, and there is no specific date when the trial run could begin and how frequently it would run. She added that harbor administration doesn’t have a certain ridership threshold in mind that would determine whether it should commit to extended service hours, but that harbor and port district staff will evaluate whether they believe it will be worth it: “It’ll be based on community support and demand.”
MacLaurie said that if the district opts to implement extended hours, it would work with the city on a plan, adding that things like fueling, vehicle maintenance and staffing are the chief concerns with running the service outside of the current hours.
City of Santa Cruz Director of Public Works Nathan Nguyen said that while it’s ultimately the port district’s decision to extend the taxi’s hours or not, his department is open to discussions: “If that’s something they’d want to accommodate, we can look into that.”
Finding enough people to operate an expanded service is perhaps the most pressing matter that the district will need to address.
“We hire seasonal staff [for the taxi]. A lot of people are just interested in working a couple of days on the weekend, and it’s perfect for them,” MacLaurie said. “So we’re now having to see what people’s availability looks like for a time period that’s longer than they initially expected.”
— Lily Belli contributed to this report.
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