Gurgaon to be first Indian city to launch pod taxis
Welcome To CitySpidey

Location

Gurgaon to be first Indian city to launch pod taxis

The project, named Metrino, will be a personal rapid transit (PRT) system which will involve pods suspended from an overhead rail.

Gurgaon to be first Indian city to launch pod taxis

Pod taxis, an idea with which several Indian states have flirted for years, is all set to debut in Gurgaon. The service will help decongest the city's traffic. Work on the pod-taxi line is expected to begin by the end of this month.

The project, named Metrino, will be a personal rapid transit (PRT) system, which will involve commuters travelling in pods suspended from an overhead rail. Each pod will accommodate five passengers. A PRT network is made up of small automated vehicles running at close intervals on a guide way with docking stations for passengers to get on and off. There will also be an option to hire an entire pod that will take a passenger straight to the destination, skipping the scheduled stops.

As the centre has given its nod to the project, the Urban Development Ministry (UD) has sought to know which central government ministry will be responsible for the safety audit of the taxi service.

The transport ministry has claimed its right, saying the project, aimed at decongesting NH 8, falls in its domain. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has laid the groundwork to roll out the first-of-its-kind personal rapid transit (PRT) network and will invite global bids for the project within the next fortnight.

The pilot project will consist of 16 stations spanning 13 km from the Gurgaon-Delhi border to Badshahpur crossing on Sohna Road, and is estimated to cost Rs 850 crore. “We have received four bids till now, which include two multinational firms. The bids are currently under scrutiny. The contract will be awarded after a formal decision is taken,” said a transport ministry official.

The Rs 4,000-crore public transport project will enable commuters to travel in driverless pods suspended from a ropeway. The first phase of the project will cover Dhaula Kuan in Delhi to Manesar in Haryana. The 70-km stretch from Dhaula Kuan to Manesar will help decongest traffic on NH 8, offering great relief to people headed to the airports and lakhs of daily office-goers.