The much-awaited Mumbai water taxi services promising connectivity between Mumbai and Navi Mumbai is finally going to be inaugurated on February 17 in the presence of Union shipping minister Sarbananda Sonowal.
The water taxi, which is expected to cut the commute time between Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, was first planned three decades ago. However, it was taken on priority over the last few years as part of the Centre’s inland waterways initiative. One central and two state agencies — the Mumbai Port Trust, Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB) and CIDCO — worked in tandem on the project.
According to officials, so far, three routes have been finalised for the inauguration of the water taxi which are between Domestic Cruise Terminal at Ferry Wharf Mazgaon in South Mumbai and the terminals at Belapur, in Navi Mumbai, Belapur and Elephanta Caves, and Belapur and JNPT. An official said the routes will be further extended to Mandwa, Revas and Karanja among others, adding the newly constructed Belapur jetty will also be inaugurated.
An MMB official said a total of four operators will run the services and will use speed boats for water taxi and catamarans for mass transportation.
While explaining about the fares, an official said, “The fares are getting competitive even before the launch. One of the operators is charging only Rs 290 between DCT and Belapur through catamaran and there will also be a monthly pass of Rs 12,000 for the same route. The catamarans will reach their destination in 40-50 minutes. Apart from that, there will be a return fare of Rs 825 for Belapur and Elephanta.”
The official added that the speed boat’s fare will range between Rs 800 and 1200 between DCT and Belapur and the distance will be covered in 25-30 minutes.
The inland water service will cut down travel time from the existing 1.5 hours to only 45 minutes, officials said.
In April 2020, Union health minister Mansukh Mandviya, who was in charge of the Ministry of Shipping and Waterways at that time, had announced the Central Government’s intent of starting water taxi services on 12 routes including from Domestic Cruise Terminal in Mumbai to Nerul, Belapur, Vashi, Airoli, Rewas, Karanja, Dharamtar, Kanhoji Angre Island and Thane.
Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/mumbai-water-taxi-service-inauguration-feb-17-7768459/
