Chad Huntington, general manager of Water Taxi of Oklahoma, said the company and the city will split a profit of more than $40,000 for the fiscal year thanks to the increase, which he credits to the continued development of lower Bricktown.
 

Huntington said 136,982 people rode the water taxis from July 1, 2004, to June 30, 2005, an increase of about 25 percent compared with the previous year. Water taxi revenue went up from $529,688 to $712,153 in that time period.
 

It marks the second straight year of increased ridership and revenues after both hit a low point in 2002-03.
 

Huntington said the numbers started out strong because the boats were a novelty.
 

“People came here regardless of the fact that they were being driven past dirt,” Huntington said. “Now we’re not the newest thing. The fact that we are getting these really fantastic numbers I think speaks to the appeal of Bricktown, the fact that Bricktown is maturing.”
 

Business is getting even better, Hunting- ton said. The ridership numbers for July, the first month of the new fiscal year, were higher than last year. Huntington said 22,852 people rode the water taxis in July 2003. That number went to 29,451 last year and increased to 31,322 this year.
 

Huntington credited the one-two punch of Bass Pro Shops, which opened in November 2003, and the Harkins Theatre, which opened in October 2004, for luring thousands more visitors to Bricktown.
 

&#x201Bass Pro brought new visitors to Bricktown,” Huntington said. “It legitimized retail and legitimized development in lower Bricktown. What Harkins did, was it brought the locals back to Bricktown.”
 

It is not uncommon to see hundreds of people lining up for water taxi rides on the weekends, but Huntington said the increase in business on weekdays has been even more impressive.
 

Jim and Rhonda Womack of Angleton, Texas, stood in line for the water taxis Tuesday with their children. The family used to live in the metro area but moved three years ago. They said they never rode the boats when they lived here, but decided it would be a fun way for their kids to see all the attractions added in lower Bricktown since they moved.
 

&#x201It lets you know what all is here,” Jim Womack said.
 

The number of visitors to Bricktown is increasing every year as new developments continue to open. According to the Bricktown Association, the number of Bricktown visitors went from about 4 million in 1998 to more than 8 million in 2004. It estimates nearly 10 million people will visit the district this year.
 

Huntington said he expects those numbers will only continue to increase.
 

&#x201I still am just amazed whenever I walk out on a Saturday night and see the huge mass of people that are hanging out in Bricktown,” Huntington said. “When we start to see that retail development and that housing development that’s been talked about, it’s going to be even more impressive.”