Mumbai took another step towards modernising its urban transport network on Tuesday with the launch of India's first pod taxi project in the city's financial hub, alongside the start of tunnelling work for the ambitious Thane-Borivali twin tunnel road project.
The e-groundbreaking ceremony of the pod taxi project, officially called the BKC Automated Rapid Transit System, was carried out by CM Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Chief Minister and Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority Chairman Eknath Shinde, and Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Ajit Pawar.
The proposed system will run along an 8.85 km elevated corridor with 22 stations in Bandra Kurla Complex. Designed as a fully driverless and air-conditioned transport service, each pod will accommodate six passengers at a time.
The project will run on a zero-subsidy model, with the private concessionaire paying an annual fee of Rs 1 crore and sharing 21 per cent of revenue with the authority.
The system will use small electric pods powered by artificial intelligence technology, each capable of carrying six passengers. Construction work is expected to be undertaken at night to minimise disruption to daytime traffic.
Alongside the pod taxi initiative, tunnelling has also begun for the 11.84 km Thane-Borivali Twin Tunnel, set to become India's longest urban road tunnel. The first tunnel boring machine, named "Nayak", was launched at the project site by Fadnavis in the presence of senior state leaders.
The twin tunnels will run beneath the Sanjay Gandhi National Park and connect Ghodbunder in Thane to the Western Express Highway in Borivali. Once operational, the corridor is expected to reduce travel time between the two points from around 60-90 minutes to roughly 15 minutes.
Each tunnel will have three traffic lanes, including a dedicated emergency lane, with cross-passages built at intervals of 300 metres for safety. The facility will also feature modern ventilation systems, fire safety infrastructure, smoke detection equipment and LED guidance signage.