At present the water taxi service operates with four vessels with plans for expansion in the next three months said the authorities concerned.
Speaking to the Dhaka Tribune Shohel Ahmed Babu, Project In-Charge of the water taxi service said: “The high volume of passengers has convinced us that we need more vessels and so we are getting 10 taxis within three months.”
He also said the route will be expanded depending on the demand, as part of a larger project, another set of water taxis are scheduled to be introduced to the Gulshan-Banani-Baridhara Lake very soon.
The first water taxi service has been launched in Hatirjheel to commemorate the 45th anniversary of the Victory Day on December 16.
Minister of Home Affairs Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal inaugurated the taxi service at Merul-Badda terminal, while Rajuk Chairman M Bazlul Karim Chaudhury, Hatirjheel project officials, Bangladesh Army Engineering Corps and representatives of the water taxi Karim Group attended the ceremony.
Each water taxi can carry 30 passengers. The fare is Tk25 for a single trip. Every day the four water taxis make a round trip every 15 minutes starting from 6:30am to 10:30pm.
Although the water taxi project was supposed to be fully implemented by 2010, it was delayed several times before December 16 inauguration to meet the deadline set by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council.
Earlier, water bus service was inaugurated in the circular waterways surrounding Dhaka by the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation in 2013.
However, due to irregularities and inconsistency of the service, it failed to gain popularity. The water bus service covers 29km in river routes and has 12 water buses in operation.
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