Here comes a piece of good news for the people who want to travel from Mumbai to Navi Mumbai in water taxi. The much-awaited water taxi service between Mumbai and Navi Mumbai is likely to be inaugurated by PM Modi in the first week of January, a report by News 18 claimed. It must be noted that the water-taxi service, which was initially planned three decades ago, will reduce the travel time between the two places. Mumbai earlier had a hovercraft service connecting Gateway of India with Navi Mumbai and Girgaum Chowpatty with Juhu. As per the updates from the operators, the water taxi service will be a 30-minute ferry from DCT to Navi Mumbai and 15 to 20 minutes from DCT to JNPT. However, the services will not operate in extremely heavy rains.
As per the report, the government has allotted routes such as International Cruise Terminal to Elephanta, Domestic Cruise Terminal (DCT) to Rewas, Karanjade, Dharamtar, DCT to Belapur, Nerul, Vashi, Airoli, Khanderi Islands and Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT) to various operators of the water taxi service. According to the operators, the DCT to JNPT, and later Navi Mumbai, will be the most sought-after route.
The report stated that the water taxi project received a push after Nitin Gadkari assumed charge as Shipping Minister. And then, the Mumbai Port Trust constructed the DCT and CIDCO started building the terminals in Navi Mumbai. As per updates, the Maharashtra Maritime Board charted the routes and the MbPT constructed a concrete jetty at Khanderi Islands.
Water Taxi Service: What about fares?
The operators said that the fares from DCT to Navi Mumbai will be between Rs 1,200 and 1,500 per passenger, while the ticket fare to JNPT can be around Rs 750. Another operator updated that the fare from DCT in Mumbai to JNPT and Navi Mumbai will be from Rs 800 to Rs 1,100.
Source : India.com
