02 December,2024 07:20 AM IST | Mumbai | Jeet Mashru
An area near the railway station at Kurla West where dense residential and commercial areas pose a challenge to the pod taxi project. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi
While the MMRDA is gearing up to start its ambitious pod taxi project to boost last-mile connectivity in Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), experts and citizen groups have warned that the proposed mode of transport could end up a failure like the Mumbai Monorail, owing to high fares and the MMRDA's alleged lack of planning and transparency.
As per the Techno-Economic Feasibility Study (TEFS) commissioned by the MMRDA for the project, a fare of R21/km was proposed with a 15 per cent increase every fourth year. The MMRDA, in a press statement in September, had said that the fare would increase by four per cent every year.
Besides the fare, there are challenges in building terminals at Bandra and Kurla railway stations and the route from these suburban railway stations to BKC. In addition to heavy encroachment at both railway stations, the pod taxi project faces challenges with respect to the alignment with the Metro Line 2B and 3 at a few places while crossing the Western Express Highway near Kalanagar junction will also be a task. To justify approval for the pods, the TEFS mentions that a total of 4,000 commuters travelling to BKC using autorickshaws and buses were surveyed by the consultant over a seven-day period. The analysis shows that 48.3 per cent (weighted probability) of the respondents are willing to shift to pod taxis, hence the project was feasible.
Citizens have highlighted that the proposed price of R21/km is very high, and commuters would prefer share autos or buses despite the difficulties they face. In fact, the survey conducted in TEFS regarding the willingness of commuters to shift to pod taxis suggested that only those with higher incomes were willing to use the pods. Of the 4,000 people surveyed - the consultant combined the findings of revealed and stated preference surveys - the TEFS mentions that the results showed that the "effect of travel cost is more weighted than the effect of the travel time", meaning commuters preferred travelling by cheaper modes of transport, irrespective of the time taken to travel.
Advocate Trivankumar Karnani, founder of MNCDF Citizen Welfare Forum, said that the pod taxis project would end up being another âwhite elephant'. "There is a lack of information, transparency and consultation with multiple stakeholders, including citizens. The MMRDA did not make its study public, and there is no clarity on how they aim to acquire land," Karnani said.
He also questioned the genuineness of the survey. "Who are these 4,000 people surveyed? Despite less than 50 per cent of people willing to switch to pod taxis, they went ahead with the project."
A V Shenoy, transport analyst at the Mumbai Mobility Forum, said that the pod taxi project would go the monorail way. "They did not have the technology or supply chain for the monorail and were dependent on only one company. Similarly, the MMRDA is dependent on only one concessionaire without understanding the supply chain issues of pod taxis. What happens even if one pod malfunctions? The entire route will be disturbed."
Shenoy explained that the MMRDA is not thinking of the fares and instead looking at a fancy high-value project. "The common man cannot afford such high fares. Even if you consider half the length of the 8.8-km route, the fare would be more than R80 one way. This is not affordable for most. We should be looking at some time-tested project instead of fancy ones that the common man cannot afford."
One of the biggest challenges the project is likely to face is acquiring land outside of BKC limits, ie at Bandra and Kurla Railway stations, for building the proposed terminals and alignment issues with the existing Metro lines at BKC. The report also mentions the challenges of building a pod taxi station at the US Consulate. It said the consulate could raise security concerns.
As per the report, there are physical constraints on section A-B, which consists of stations between Kurla railway station and LBS Marg. "There are dense residential and commercial areas in the vicinity of the section. The built-up areas here are so dense in some places that they have encroached footpaths," stated the report.
Challenges at Kurla also include land acquisition and clearing encroachments. The TEFS mentions that the roads in the section are very narrow, only ranging between 12 m and 18 m. To overcome these challenges, the report proposed banning motorised vehicles on the route, demolishing encroachments and providing separate tracks at different levels for up and down traffic.
Just like Kurla, Bandra station also faces the same challenges in navigating the congested route and acquiring land near Bandra railway station in the east. In section H-I, which consists of stations between Maker Maxity at BKC and Bandra railway station, the TEFS mentions the Kalanagar flyover passing through the median of the carriageway as a challenge. The report does not mention solutions to the land acquisition problem near Bandra East railway station.
It suggests that the pod taxi route should be taken through the same route as the abandoned skywalk by demolishing it.
An MMRDA official said that the pods are designed in such a way that it would directly take the passenger to the station they select. "For example, if you choose NSE as the destination from Bandra, a pod dedicated to NSE will arrive and will directly stop there. Hence, a lot of time will be saved." He added that MMRDA was not going to spend anything on the project since this was a PPP model. "The concessionaire has to build the project at their cost and recover it from the passengers using it."
Replying to queries about to fares and land acquisition, MMRDA official said that as per the stated preference surveys, about 70 per cent auto users and 36 per cent bus users preferred paying R21 per km. "Hence the fare has been kept at R21/km," the official said.
Officials said that the land acquisition had to be done by the concessionaire. "Since the land belongs to BMC and Railways, it is not difficult to acquire the land on lease or purchase."
Officials added that the project would not go the monorail way as it connects to two important suburban stations and will see good footfall.
They added that pod taxis can handle 12,500 person-trips per km of network per day. The capacity may further be increased by making use of bigger taxi pods, based on feasibility. The system is fully autonomous and driverless with a capacity to carry six passengers per pod.
Ashok Datar, a transport analyst, said, "There was a solution that worked really well in BKC till 2016, but MMRDA abandoned it: dedicated bus lanes. It ran 120 buses per hour, achieving a ridership of 93,000 people per day, and the costs for buses were not high. This project does not cost anything; only barriers have to be put up to create dedicated lanes."
Datar explained that it seems like MMRDA wants to spend money on high-value projects that will not bring any solution. "MMRDA's forecast has been very poor in terms of ridership, be it Metro or monorail and it will be the same for pod taxis too," he added.
Kinnari Shukal, a professional working in a financial organisation in BKC, said, "The cost of the pod taxis does not work for anyone travelling beyond a kilometre from the suburban railway stations. Despite the harrowing experiences linked to share autos, the fare set by them is R30 per seat. Pods will just be costlier; hence, people may not use them."
Dharmesh Jhaveri, a regular commuter to BKC's diamond bourse, said, "During peak hours, the maximum fare for a share auto is R30, even a trip to BKC on a premium Chalo bus costs Rs 35. People will not use pod taxis because of this."
"We have held meetings with the traffic commissioner and agencies, but the authorities do not pay heed to basic solutions like improving BEST bus services from Bandra. If they resolve the encroachment issue and ensure BEST buses reach Bandra, the commuting issues at BKC will get resolved," he added.
43%
Percentage of survey respondents willing to shift to pod taxis as per MMRDA
4,000 No. of people surveyed by the consultant'
2,371 No. of bus users who participated
1,629 No. of autorickshaw users who participated
53.4% of autorickshaw users showed a willingness to switch to pod taxis
48.1% of Bus users expressed willingness to travel via pod taxis
'Revealed-cum-stated preference surveys as per TEFS
