Mumbai to get 12 water taxi routes, 4 RO-RO services by December

The financial capital of India, Mumbai is soon expected to see a new mode of transportation – water taxi and RO-RO services (roll-on/roll-off passenger), which will further ease traffic congestions on the roads. The government has been planned to promote eco-friendly waterways transportation and reduce the traffic load of crowded Mumbai city roads.

A meeting was chaired by the Minister of State (I/C) for Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Mansukh Mandaviya to review the Urban Water Transportation projects for Mumbai, Maharashtra. It has been planned that 4 new routes for ROPAXferry services and 12 new routes of water taxi are planned to be operational by December, 2021.

At present, ROPAX (roll-on/roll-off passenger) service from Bhaucha Dhakka (Ferry Wharf) to Mandwa (Alibag) is successfully operating by reducing the road journey of 110km to about 18km by using waterways, thereby reducing travel time of daily commuters from about 3-4 hours to merely an hour. Witnessing the benefits being reaped of this ferry service, similar services are planned to be operational at various other routes in Mumbai. The details of the new routes are as follows:

The government believes that opening up of 4 new routes of ROPAX Ferries and 12 routes of Water taxis will provide a big relief for daily commuters in Mumbai. It will result in a pollution-free, peaceful and time-saving journey as well as reduce the travel cost and carbon footprint significantly. It would also cater for the requirements of increasing number of tourists and commuters at various stretches of Mumbai city.

Mansukh Mandaviya, stated that operationalisation of new waterways routes is a big step towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of harnessing waterways and integrating them with the economic development of the country. It will open up new opportunities and avenues to create an ecosystem and network of such ROPAX services and Water Taxi services at numerous other routes in all coastal states.