The water taxi commuter service between Bowen Island and downtown Vancouver is back in business.
Owner Mike Shannon was able to secure docking privileges at Harbour Cruises’ facilities in Coal Harbour. Starting Monday morning at 6:30, Bowen Land and Sea Taxi will be picking up passengers in Snug Cove and dropping them off at the foot of Denman Street in Coal Harbour and doing the return trip in the afternoon.
On February 9, the Vancouver Park Board told Shannon he could no longer use the Harbour Green public dock near the convention centre. The park board said that an engineer had deemed it unsafe and that, as of his last run that afternoon, he’d have to find a new location.
The decision left Shannon and his passengers scrambling. He had to shut down the service for the week while he tried to find a space that suited his and his passengers’ needs.
“It was a long week,” he said Sunday morning. “I was chasing down lots of leads but finally something came through.”
Shannon used to work in the boatyards business and has mutual friends with the people who run Harbour Cruises. “They were happy to help,” he says, adding that they have a back-up location nearby.
The dock is a brand new replacement. Passengers will also appreciate that there is a covered waiting area for rainy day commutes.
So far reaction has been positive, Shannon says.
