Water taxis will soon start operating in Mumbai, and will probably provide relief to the city’s never ending traffic.
The operations of the water taxis are scheduled to start in March 2021, will travel from Navi Mumbai to Mumbai, and will be inaugurated by PM Modi.
These water taxis have been planned three decades ago and are a part of the Centre’s inland waterways initiative.
Water Taxis To Run Between Navi Mumbai And Mumbai, Inauguration In January
This project is a joint initiative by the Mumbai Port Trust, Maharashtra Maritime Board and CIDCO. The private companies, Infinity Harbour Services LLP and West Coast Marine, and also an organization of the wooden boat owners at the Gateway of India have the license to operate the water taxis.
There will be 12 water taxi routes with eight links from the domestic cruise terminal Bhaucha Dhakka (Ferry Wharf) to Nerul, Belapur, Airoli, Vashi, Rewas (near Alibaug), Karanja, Dharamtar and Kanhoji Angre Island. The other four routes are Belapur to Thane and Gateway of India, and Vashi to Thane and Gateway of India. Additionally, it will ferry to Elephanta Caves from the International Cruise Terminal at Mazgaon. However, Jetties at Vashi and Airoli have not been built yet.
The Infinity Harbour Services has a 50-seater, a 40-seater, a 32-seater and a 14-seater capacity, the West Coast Marine has a couple of 12-seaters and one 20-seater water taxi.
Water Taxis: Timings, Fares
The water taxi will be operational on all days of the week and all seasons, including monsoons. The timings will be from 8 am to 8 pm, and will operate three times a day, morning, afternoon and evening.
As per reports, the frequency will increase as per the demand after the initial testing. This means boats will be ferrying every 30 minutes.
This will definitely help reduce the travelling time between Navi Mumbai and Mumbai. As per reports, it will be down by 75% in a water taxi.
Sohel Kazani of Infinity Harbour Services LLP, said, “Our boats will take less than 30 minutes from DCT to Navi Mumbai, whereas by taxi it takes between 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 45 minutes.”
The traveling time from Mumbai to Elephanta and JNPT will take 15 minutes. Mumbai to Belapur, Nerul, Vashi and Rewas will take 25-30 minutes.
The fare has been calculated at Rs 45 per minute per passenger. This means that the fare between Mumbai to Navi Mumbai is expected to be something between Rs 1200 to Rs 1500 per person. The fare to JNPT will be around Rs. 750. All these fares are for Infinity Harbour Services.
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