Of the 179 people who responded thus far to the online survey about the pilot water taxi service on the Thames River the last two weekends, 98 percent said they enjoyed the ride and 95 percent said they would ride it again to visit area attractions.

The survey is considered critical to building support and obtaining funding to make the water taxi a permanent feature. Organizers of the proposed Thames River Heritage Park said they are hoping more people will complete the questionnaire before the midnight Sunday deadline. The water taxi is considered a key element to make the heritage park a reality, linking the two sides of the river and multiple historic and cultural sites.

A total of 4,247 passengers rode the vessel on its route from City Pier in New London, to the bottom of Fort Street in Groton City, and to Fort Trumbull in New London over the four days the free service was available, with many of the passengers on board for multiple legs of the route. Capacity of the vessel, on free loan from Mystic Seaport, averaged 73 percent.

In addition to taking the water taxi to historic and cultural attractions, about 90 percent of the respondents thus far have said they would also use it for shopping and dining. Catching a train, bus, ferry, traveling to school or work and "just enjoying the ride" were among the other reasons respondents said they would use the water taxi.

The steering committee for the park is encouraging anyone who rode the water taxi and previously had trouble accessing the survey to try again. Problems with the survey the first weekend have been fixed, the committee said.

The survey can be found at www.averycopphouse.org/thames.