River taxi service plan for Taunton town centre

For the last six years, the trust has been running a 30-minute boat tour on the River Tone between the Brewhouse and French Weir Park

A river taxi service is being earmarked for Taunton town centre.

It follows the success of a 30-minute boat tour on the River Tone run for the past six years by the Somerset Waterways Development Trust.

Ken Bussell, trust chairman, said: "I believe there's a demand for [the taxi service], it but we won't know until we try it."

Taunton Deane Borough Council said it was "not yet formally involved" but was "supportive in principle".

Taxi stops

The trust's Brewhouse to Brewhouse round trip boat tour currently runs every half an hour, five hours a day between Easter and October.

But this year, after adding French Weir Park as a pick-up and drop-down point, the trust now wants to add a further four "taxi stops" and a second six-passenger boat.

"Our tour boat seating capacity is only seven but going through the summer we've carried 1,000 people - that's a lot of people for a little boat," said Mr Bussell.

"We had quite a few people doing just a single short hop so I think there is potentially a market for it [a water taxi]."

Running six days a week at its peak, the new service is expected to ferry passengers between Firepool Lock and French Weir Park at a cost of £1 per stop or £2 for up to three stops.

A spokeswoman for the borough council said making the river the "focus" of Taunton was a "priority" for the authority.

"It's a tremendous asset right in the heart of the town," she said. "The council would be keen to explore any proposals for a river taxi with the operator."