Increasing population growth in urban areas has led to significant problems, stretching the limits of existing urban transportation systems. While once playing a critical role in transport in the early development of cities, water transport has since declined sharply in relevance with increases in bridges, tunnels and the widespread proliferation of automobiles. But land based mass transit systems are often reaching capacity. These issues have led to a resurgence of interest in the use of urban ferry services as transport corridors along currently underutilised waterways. Cities such as Brisbane, New York, London, Gothenburg and Bangkok have operating urban ferry systems which play an important role in the transport functions of each city. In order to provide a better understanding of the operation of water transport services, their wider impact and the implications for their inclusion in future city planning, this thesis investigates key issues for planning this form of transport.