Mumbai: The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has floated a tender for the pod taxi project to solve traffic congestion in the Kurla-BKC-Bandra area. This has paved the way for pod taxis to be seen running on the Bandra-Kurla route in 2026. It is 8.8 km from Bandra to Kurla. Passengers will be charged Rs 184 for distance travel.
Also Read| All You Need To Know About Pod Taxi Service Which Will Connect Bandra and BKC
BKC is the country's major economic hub and is also gaining recognition internationally. The headquarters of multinational companies in India, as well as the offices of various banks and financial institutions in India and around the world, are also located in BKC. Bharat Diamond Bourse, Dhirubhai Ambani International School, Geo Garden, Mumbai Cricket Association, United States Consulate General, and British Deputy High Commission also have offices in BKC.
At present, there are more than 4 lakh employees working in various offices in BKC. The area has always been congested. However, it affects traffic and the area is always facing congestion. At present, it takes 16 minutes for a car and 24 minutes for a bus to reach Kurla station from MTNL junction in BKC. It adds to that during rush hours. To address this, a pod taxi project is being set up between Bandra and Kurla at a cost of Rs 1,016 crore. The project will be implemented on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis.
After hiring a contractor, it will take 24 months to build the project. The contractor will be given a concession period of 30 years.
The pod taxi is 3.5 m long and 1.47 m long. Wide, 1.8m. It will be tall. Her speed is 40 km/h. Per hour (maximum). An estimated 5,000 square meter depot is proposed in the Bandra-Kurla Complex. The MMRDA expects 1.09 lakh passengers to travel in pod taxis every day by 2031 once the project is completed.
1) Taxi speed: 40 kmph
2) For every kilometre distance: Rs 21
3) Pod taxi carrying passengers: 6 passengers