Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, in a review meeting held on Monday, September 22, mandated that pod taxis are the next step in transportation services and should be implemented for last-mile connectivity in Mumbai. It will also reduce burden on the existing public transport in the city.
Chief Minister Fadnavis said, "This service will be crucial in the commercial area between Kurla and Bandra railway stations. The upcoming bullet train station and the Bombay High Court will increase the traffic flow of citizens in this area. There's a strong possibility that this will increase pressure on existing transportation services, causing difficulties for citizens."
In the future, pod taxis will be an option for citizens in this area to access transportation services without delay and with ease.
A pod taxi is part of the Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) mechanism in which fully automated, driverless, electric vehicles run on elevated tracks to transport small number of persons.
The meeting was held at Sahyadri Guest House at Malabar Hill, and attended by senior officials, including Mumbai Police Commissioner Deven Bharti, MMRDA chief Sanjay Mukherjee, and senior IAS officers from transport, urban development and home departments. Presentations on the project’s feasibility and potential were given by Mukherjee and Bharti.
For this, he also ordered to relocate police quarters in Kurla to a nearby area while allowing the usage of the land for the pod taxi project connecting Kurla and Bandra to Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC).
Single card system for all public transport
A system is being developed in Mumbai to facilitate travel on all transport services through a single card. Action should be taken to ensure that citizens can also avail of pod taxi services through this unified card system. The Kurla and Bandra station areas should be developed to accommodate pod taxis.
Additionally, buildings in the BKC area should be connected to the station through these pod taxis. Chief Minister Fadnavis also suggested on this occasion that good concepts should be implemented to further utilise the skywalk outside the station.
During a high-level meeting on the project, the CM highlighted that the service would play a vital role in easing congestion in the BKC corridor, which is expected to witness a sharp rise in commuter traffic with the development of a bullet train terminal and the new Mumbai High Court building in the vicinity.
The project, worth INR 1,016.34 crore, has been under planning for over a year and is set to be completed in three to four years.
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