The Maharashtra government will soon roll out water taxi services to reduce travel time between Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, and help ease traffic congestion in the city. The services will connect various parts of the two cities within just 40 minutes.
The water taxis will run from the Radio Jetty at the Gateway of India to the Navi Mumbai Airport, officials said.
The electric boats will also help reduce pollution and benefit the environment.
A meeting was held on Monday regarding the implementation of the proposal to start water taxis - chaired by Maharashtra Minister Nitesh Rane. During the meeting, Mr Rane instructed officials to initiate planning for the water taxi services and to prepare proposals for building jetties at the required locations. He also directed the Airport Authority to submit proposals for the necessary permissions for the project.
The meeting, held at the Ports Department, was attended by Additional Chief Secretary of the Transport, Ports, and Civil Aviation Department Sanjay Sethi, Brijesh Singhal of the Navi Mumbai Airport Authority, Pradeep Badiye of the Maharashtra Maritime Board, and other departmental officials.
According to the minister, the construction of terminals for the water taxis should be carried out in phases.
"We also plan to integrate the water taxi service with the Mumbai Water Metro, which will help people commute faster between Mumbai and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). It will significantly reduce travel time, decongest traffic, and be environmentally friendly," he said.
