Getting on or off Anna Maria Island by land usually means being stuck in hours of traffic.

That’s why Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy wants folks to travel by sea. Murphy believes a water taxi will help reduce traffic.

Laura Shely lives in Bradenton but works on popular Pine Avenue in Anna Maria, which she says is the best place to have a shop. However, it's not the best drive for Shely, who says a good part of her day is spent stuck in traffic.

“My daily commute in season consists of leaving an hour and a half early work every morning," she said.

Shely says when she leaves work at 5 p.m., it's even worse, sometimes taking her as long as two hours to get home.

“It's two to three hours per day that I could be working, making producing jewelry or getting something done at home too," she said.

Murphy says adding a water taxi in the city will help reduce traffic.

“The visitors that would come by water taxi do not bring cars," he said. "Obviously that’s foot traffic and that’s the type of visitors we would really like.”

Murphy is working with engineers to study the ways to make his vision a reality. As of now he is looking to expand a jetty near the City Pier and have the taxi that can carry 24 passengers pick up and depart in the area.

Ideally he would like the route to be from the City of Anna Maria connecting to Fort De Soto in Pinellas County.

Murphy believes that once the service is up and running, the island will notice a difference.

“Once it's in place it has the ability to grow," he said. "Once we can prove that it is a viable idea then it can grow and that’s when it would have a good favorable impact.”

Shely likes the idea but doesn’t think it will reduce her traffic stress.

“Really unless it is going to hold hundreds of people it's not going to make any impact," she said. "It's not going to make an impact. We just have so many people, which we love, coming to the island.”

Murphy says the project is still in the planning stages. He is awaiting the results from the engineers and still has to hold meetings with the city commissioners.

If it passes Murphy says it will be about two to three years until the plan is up and running.