India to get its first driverless pod-taxis in Gurgaon

Looks like North India will be getting the first pod-taxi in India for decongesting traffic woes faced by many communters. Work on India’s first Metrino pod-taxi line is expected to begin by the end of this month. While the project has got a nod from the Central government, the Urban Development Ministry (UD) has raised concerns as to who would be responsible for the safety audit of this project. According to a report in Business Today, UD claims that since this is a mass rapid transit system, it cannot be executed without the ministry’s clearances. The Transport Ministry, which handles National Highways Association of India (NHAI) has said that the project aims to decongest traffic on the NH-8. Since the NH-8 falls under NHAI’s jurisdiction, the work is expected to go as planned either by end of July or end of next month. Transport Ministry has set aside Rs 850 crore for this project. It will involve a ropeway like system with driverless pods that run on electricity. The pods will come and go from designated stations. there are expected to be around 16 stations within the 13-km stretch of this project. The total cost of the project is expected to be around Rs 4,000 crore and will enable travelling in a driverless pod in the National Capital Region. The project is expected to start from Dhaula Kuan in Delhi to Manesar in Haryana which is a 70-km stretch which is expected to decongest the NH-8 highway. The first phase of the project is expected to cover the Gurgaon-Delhi border to Badshapur Mod. According to a Transport Ministry official, four bids have been received from several companies, including two foreign firms.