Mumbai has taken its first concrete step towards a futuristic, on-demand transit system that promises faster within one of the city’s busiest business districts with the bhoomipujan of the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) pod taxi project on Tuesday, April 7.
It will cater to more than 100,000 commuters per day by 2031, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) said on Monday, April 6, a day ahead of the project’s foundation stone laying ceremony.
As per the development authority said citing an internal assessment report, ridership will surge to 112,000 by 2041, catering to more than 17% of those visiting the business district.
The pod taxi will start in the first phase between Kurla and Bandra East in the city. This taxi will run on a 3.36 km route in this area. There will be a total of 8 stations on this route.
There will be stops at Bandra East, Kalanagar, MMRDA Old Building, Excise Department, Bharat Diamond Bourse Gate 11, MMRDA Pay and Park, LBS Marg and Kurla stations. This taxi will be of great benefit to the employees going to the Bandra-Kurla complex.
The Automated Rapid Transit System (ARTS) route is planned to be expanded to 8.85 km by 2031. There will be 22 stations on this route. Earlier, 38 stations were proposed. But later their number was reduced to 22.
Meanwhile, the pod taxi route in BKC will be expanded further by increasing the circular loop. Pod taxis will stop only at its specific allocated stations.
There will be air-conditioned stations on this route at a distance of every 200 meters. Each pod taxi will be able to travel six passengers at a time. This taxi will run at a speed of 40 km per hour, with a headway of just 15 seconds.
By 2031, 1.09 lakh passengers will travel. According to the estimate in 2022, the fare is likely to be Rs 21 per kilometer. The project is expected to cost Rs 1,016 crore and the taxi will be running on Mumbai routes by 2027.
This pod taxi is completely driverless and will run on an 8-inch wide elevated track supported by 8-meter high pillars.
The length of this taxi will be 3.5 meters, width at 1.47 meters and height will be only 1.8 meters. This will make it easier to travel through Mumbai's traffic jams with the pod taxi.
Integration with existing metro infrastructure is expected to further boost its utility. The pod taxi network will connect with Metro Line 3 at BKC and Metro 2B at key points, improving last-mile connectivity for thousands of office-goers.
Currently, daily footfall at the business district ranges 4,00,000-6,00,000, including 2,00,000-4,00,000 office-goers and visitors.