Pod taxi service to connect Noida Airport & Film City to be operational by 2024

Uttar Pradesh is set to become the first State in the country to have a pod taxi service which will connect the upcoming Noida international airport at Jewar to the proposed Film City.

The Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) has already approved the detailed project report of the Rs 810-crore project in Sector 21. According to the plan, there will be 12 stations on the 12-km route connecting the two mega projects within the YEIDA area.

"We had planned to have 17 stations in the YEIDA region. But later reduced it to 12 as the layout of the airport has been changed. We added the industrial land of sectors 31 and 32 with the airport to expand the aviation hub area, the project will be completed by next year" said Arun Vir Singh, chief executive officer, YEIDA.

The 12 stations on the route will be at the Film City, Rabupura village, Sector 34, junction of Sectors 28 and 33, Toy Park, junction of Sectors 29 and 32 (on 100m-wide road), Apparel Park, Sector 29, junction of Sectors 29 and 32 (on 75m-wide road), MSME Park and Handicraft Park.

The pod taxi service will be available at a frequency of 20 seconds at each station. The authorities are expecting to witness a footfall of 37,000 passengers daily who will be charged Rs 8 per km.

The authority is planning to complete the pod taxi project by 2024 around the time when the first phase of the Jewar airport is likely to be operational. Once operational, the pod taxi service promises to reduce traffic along the expressway, which will be a great relief to the people travelling towards the airport and millions of other daily office-goers.

Since the entire network will be running on electricity, this system will not just reduce the amount of pollution that is produced by vehicles, but it is turning out to be pocket-friendly for commuters. This is also an effort by the YEIDA authorities to provide a last-mile connectivity solution to connect transportation hubs, such as train stations or bus terminals, to nearby destinations.

Pod taxis, officially known as Personal Rapid Transit (PRT), are a type of public transportation system that consists of small, driverless vehicles designed to carry a small number of passengers or goods. Such taxis are a common sight in Western countries but hit a roadblock in India due to regulatory and financial issues.