IT’S 5.30 on a Friday evening.

The Millbrook flyover is gridlocked yet again and the M27 is a ribbon of brake lights.

But imagine if you could bypass all the stress, fumes and honking horns of the city, opting instead for a commute that leaves the tarmac behind as you slice through Southampton Water, heading home via highspeed waterbus.

It may sound far-fetched but with many of our major towns, cities and suburban areas linked by waterways, a network of public water taxis could offer a very real solution to the south’s road traffic congestion.

Waterbuses filled with workers are a familiar sight in destinations all over the world, from New York to Japan, so why not Southampton?

Services between Sydney Harbour and its suburbs even provide free wireless Internet connection, allowing busy commuters to check their emails and browse the Web en route to the office.

And water transport networks aren’t just an option for glamorous foreign locations.

In some parts of the UK, waterbuses and taxis are becoming a real alternative for workers wishing to avoid the busy roads.

London has Britain’s most extensive waterbus service, Thames Clipper, which carries more than 20,000 passengers per week up and down the River Thames.

And it doesn’t stop there. Water taxis – dubbed “waxis” – are due to launch on the Manchester Ship Canal this summer.

If plans get the go-ahead, a fleet of 12-metre vessels, each capable of carrying 12 passengers, will operate between Manchester Victoria and the Trafford Centre, with various stops en route.

The company behind the proposals says the service is aimed at commuters as well as tourists.

Meanwhile, plans to regenerate the waterways of Leicestershire could create a 23-mile water transport network along the River Soar, including waterbus services to ferry fans to and from football matches.

Could a similar service take Saints fans to and from St Mary’s Stadium via the River Itchen, helping to avoid the road traffic chaos that affects the city every time there is a home game?

Transport bosses are seriously exploring the possibility of a water transport network here in the south, with the potential to link Southampton with Portsmouth, Lee-on-the- Solent, Gosport, Warsash and Hamble.

As part of an extensive review of the road, rail, bus and water networks, Transport for South Hampshire (TfSH) has outlined a radical proposal for a high-speed Solent water bus connecting Southampton with Portsmouth.

Transport chiefs say the £15m water bus service – one of several ideas suggested as part of a massive £2 billion upgrade of south Hampshire’s transport network – could help ease congestion on the M27.

Red Funnel even trialled the route in 2003, with a trip from Southampton to Gosport in 35 minutes and a return ticket costing £10 per adult and £5 per child.

Councillor Mel Kendal, executive member for environment, said there was support from members of the public and those working in the transport industry for a water bus service operating along the south coast. “The non-stop service between Southampton and Gosport took less than 45 minutes,” he said.

“Today the same journey by vehicle – travelling up the A32, along the M27 and back through Southampton – takes over an hour. We could expand the service to include Portsmouth, with stops in places like Hythe, Hamble and Lee-on-the-Solent.

“Of course, when you start adding stops you increase the commuting time so we might be looking at an express commute service followed by a later stopping service.

“Our waterways may appear crowded, but they’re not as busy as the Channel, and there is actually room for more traffic.

The vessels themselves would be fairly moderate in size, much smaller than a ferry and very manoeuvrable.”

One of the UK’s leading suppliers of high-speed ferries said coastal cities like Southampton are ideally placed for introducing high-speed water buses.

The spokesman for World Water Taxis said: “Britain is an island – we’re surrounded by water, which makes us perfect for a water transport network. It’s a quicker and easier way of getting from A to B. I’m amazed that more places in Britain aren’t taking advantage of the opportunity. The infrastructure already exists so it’s not expensive to introduce, the vessels are incredibly fuel-efficient and once you get people onto the water, it takes them off our dangerous, over-congested roads.”

Cllr Kendal added that any new water buses in the south would complement Hampshire’s existing ferry services, such as the Hythe ferry, and could even bring in new business for them.

He said: “The next step is to carry out market testing to see what kind of services people would be willing to use, and then carry out trials in four or five years time. We’re in the concept stages at the moment but it’s definitely something Southampton should not rule out for the future.”

Water Taxi Factfile

• The Mount Batten ferry in Plymouth offers a daily service between the Mount Batten area of the city and its historic barbican. The service is designed with commuters, shoppers and day-trippers in mind.

• Plans to regenerate the waterways of Leicestershire could create a 23-mile water transport network along the River Soar, including regular water taxis and a waterbus service to ferry fans to and from football matches.

• In London, high-speed waterbuses running alongside more leisurely pleasure cruises on the Thames offer a real alternative to the Underground.

The service has proved popular with audiences travelling to and from events at the O2 Arena on the Greenwich peninsula.

• In Venice – where canals replace roads – private watertaxis and public buses known as vaporetti are the accepted mode of transport for locals and tourists.

• Sydney’s water transport network is popular with sightseers and commuters.

Businessmen and women can even enjoy free wireless Internet connection on board so they can check their emails and catch up on office Business while they sail.

n Waterbuses and taxis are a familiar sight in both New York and Japan.

• In 2007, transport bosses in Portsmouth announced hopes for cutting road congestion by getting commuters to take to the water. A waterbus system could potentially link Portsmouth with Gosport, Lee-on-the-Solent, Fareham, Eastleigh and Southampton.

• Cardiff already runs a successful water taxi service from Cardiff Bay to the city centre and nearby Penarth. It was created specifically with workers in mind.