Believe this : A personal rapid transport system on way !

The Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) is planning yet another ambitious project - the first- ever Personal Rapid Transit system ( PRTS) in the city that seeks to provide personalised travel mode at cheaper rates. As discussed in a meeting with Fairwood Consultants on Tuesday, the PRTS system would be an integrated system, much like the current BEST buses, but will run on pods, a vehicle used for commuting.

There would be dedicated stops where the people would be waiting for the pods and then either individually or sharing, can go to their destination using the PRTS. The pod would weigh around 900 kg and would have a carrying capacity of four people. It would be totally battery operated and won't require any fuel or electricity. It would run on a smart card and that card would be integrated with other modes of transport like the metro and monorail. It would be running on a separate dedicated track and would be 2 metres wide.

" This would be a great success if implemented as it would save the travel time to a great extent and this would also be cheaper than the taxi fare for an individual," said an official from MMRDA. The cost of the entire project would be around Rs 1100 crore, however the consultant would be bearing the entire cost and MMRDA would just be the controlling authority without incurring any expenses. This system would be basically used for the east- west connectivity of the city. However, if implemented it would be sharing the revenue of the BEST, autos and taxis that are currently used by the commuters for travelling.

A presentation about the entire project would be made to Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and once he approves, a feasibility study would be carried out on the implementation of the project. If the proposal gets a green signal from the Chavan the pilot project would be carried out in and around the areas of Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) and connecting areas of Bandra east and Bandra west. According to a study conducted by Fairwood Consultants, around 6.5- lakh people travel daily between Bandra (west) and Bandra ( east). Some of the initial routes would be Sion- BKC, BKC- Bandra station, BKC- Banstand, Sion- Bandra and so on.

The PRTS is currently used in Morgantown in West Virginia in the United States (US) and London Heathrow airport in the United Kingdom (UK). There are also talks of installing this system in Gurgaon in Haryana. The system is also proposed in other cities of the world like Abu Dhabi and Dubai in UAE and Northamptonshire in UK.

However, even before the talks can be put on paper some key officials of the MMRDA have rejected this idea in a city like Mumbai. " While proposing everyone shows all the positive aspects, however the ground reality is completely different," said an official requesting anonymity