QC celebrates 30 years of river rides on Channel Cat

The idea of a Mississippi River ferryboat service began more than three decades ago with the goal of giving at least a few residents a chance to better connect with the river. Today, that service – called the Channel Cat – gives more than 40,000 people each year a ride on the river every season, […]

The idea of a Mississippi River ferryboat service began more than three decades ago with the goal of giving at least a few residents a chance to better connect with the river. Today, that service – called the Channel Cat – gives more than 40,000 people each year a ride on the river every season, and has given rides to more than 1 million people since the water taxi first hit the river in 1995. “It’s an absolute gem for our community. … Hopefully, many of you get to spend some time out on the water with the Channel Cat today,” said Illinois State Sen. Mike Halpin, D-Rock Island, during a celebration on a sunny, cool Friday morning, May 23, to honor the 30th anniversary and celebrate the Quad Citians who made it possible.

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About 100 people from the business community gathered for that celebration at 1415 River Drive, Moline, behind the Wyndham Hotel. The event also was held to mark the official launch of the 2025 Channel Cat season. The festivities also included a Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce ribbon-cutting ceremony and honored two people responsible for the Channel Cat’s service. Those honored with a City of Moline proclamation were Kathy Wine, co-founder of River Action, and Jeff Nelson, CEO/managing director of MetroLINK. They were recognized for their leadership in establishing and expanding the Channel Cat as a gateway to the riverfront. The Channel Cat service began on July 4 weekend of 1995.  River Action operated the service for three years before asking MetroLINK to own and operate the water taxi as a public transit option. Friday’s gathering largely focused on telling the history of the Channel Cat service, and recognizing the work and dedication it took to make the water taxi dream a reality. That dream began in the early 1990s when several people from the Quad Cities visited Baltimore and saw that city’s taxi service in action. Not long after that visit, some of those people started planning for a water taxi service in the Quad Cities that would better connect people to the river and connect people to many communities in the region.  Thinking back on those planning stages, Ms. Wine told the crowd that she had several talks with people in Baltimore about setting up the water taxi service. She remembers once asking them about running the taxi in bad weather and what should be done when it rains. She said the advice she got from Baltimore water taxi leaders was: “You get the captain a rain coat and you keep the boats running.” “It’s been quite a journey for us. … It’s been exciting to see how the community has embraced this,” Mr. Nelson said during the ceremony. “The Channel Cat is more than just a ride across the river — it’s part of what makes the Quad Cities a connected and vibrant region and has played a pivotal role in the region’s riverfront development and our community’s mobility,” MetroLINK Manager of Administration Jennifer Hirsch added. Here’s some of the history and details of the Channel Cat:

• The history of Channel Cat goes back to 1994. In that year, River Action received a $25,000 grant from the Riverboat Development Authority to conduct a feasibility study of a water taxi on the Mississippi River. A committee was formed that included: River Action; city planners from Davenport and Bettendorf and Moline; MetroLINK; a riverboat captain; a retired U.S. Coast Guard employee; and a local non-gaming riverboat company, the Celebration Belle.
• Over the next nine months, the committee worked on the design and construction of the boat, scheduling, docking, personnel, and garnering community support. A contest was held to name the boat, and a professor at Scott Community College had the idea for naming it “Channel Cat.”  A local marketing firm designed the logo, and St. Ambrose University students developed the marketing plan.
• MetroLINK later researched the possibility of obtaining Ferry Boat Discretionary (FBD) funding available for passenger river crossing. A grant application was completed and MetroLINK was awarded a $1.2 million  grant to upgrade the boat. MetroLINK purchased two passenger ferry boats (later a third was purchased) to expand the service.
• The boats are covered, open-air, 47-foot, 24-net ton military transport barges, with an aluminum hull, a deck, bench seating for 49 passengers, and room for seven bicycles.  Each Channel Cat is powered by two 250-horsepower John Deere engines using B20 Bio-diesel fuel and is fully ADA accessible.
• The Channel Cat’s four landing locations offer travelers a variety of businesses and restaurants to visit along the bi-state riverfront. A fifth landing location is coming soon. Cities served include Moline, East Moline, Davenport and Bettendorf.
• The Channel Cat schedule runs from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day. Hours are: 11 a.m. to 7:40 p.m. on Mondays through Thursdays; and 9 a.m. to 7:15 p.m. on Fridays through Sundays. Ticket fees are $8 for adults, $4 for children ages 2 to 10.
• The Channel Cat will soon make technological advances. Last year, MetroLINK announced it received an $8 million federal grant to buy a battery-electric ferry. That grant is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) grants, which awarded a total of nearly $300 million. During Friday's ceremony, Mr. Nelson told the crowd that plans are in the works to eventually get two electric boats to join the Channel Cat fleet. He could not give a timeline when those e-boats might be ready for the public.