Mumbai to get 12 new water taxi routes, ROPAX services on 4 routes
08 Apr 2021
Mansukh Mandaviya, Minister of State (I/C) for Ports, Shipping and Waterways, chaired a meeting to review the Urban Water Transportation projects for Mumbai, Maharashtra. Senior Officials of the Ministry, Chairperson of Mumbai Port and officials of Maharashtra Maritime Board and other stakeholders were present in the meeting.
The ministry of shipping and waterways has proposed the operationalisation of 4 new routes for ROPAX ferry services and 12 new routes of water taxis by December 2021, in order to promote eco-friendly waterways transportation and reduce the traffic load of crowded Mumbai city roads.
At present, ROPAX (roll-on/roll-off passenger) service from Bhaucha Dhakka (Ferry Wharf) to Mandwa (Alibag) is successfully using waterways, reducing the road journey of 110 km to about 18 km, thereby reducing travel time of daily commuters from about 3-4 hours to merely one hour. Similar services are planned to be operational at various other routes in Mumbai.