The Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) has decided to expand its ambitious pod taxi project connecting the Noida International Airport (NIA) in Jewar to Sector-21 Film City until Greater Noida’s Pari Chowk.
Earlier on 1 July, the authority had issued a global ‘request for proposal’ for the state-of-the-art pod taxi system from Jewar International Airport to Film City.
The pre-bid meeting on 19 July organised by the Uttar Pradesh state government evoked good response, with participation from PRT UK, Larsen & Toubro, Systra France, Ultra PRT, Siemens, Tata, IRB Infrastructure, Intamin Transportation (Switzerland), Hyundai, Kalpataru and Invest India.
According to officials, any agency interested in taking on the Pod Taxi project can apply for a tender until 10 August; on 16 August, Yeida will open bids for this Rs 641 crore project.
The extended network will span at least 25 kilometres from Jewar to Greater Noida’s Pari Chowk.
Personal rapid transit (PRT) is a state-of-the-art form of public transport (PT) that uses small, automated electric ‘pod cars’ to provide a taxi-like service for individuals or small groups of travellers.
The Project
The authority had engaged the Indian Port Rail and Ropeway Corporation Limited (IPRCL), a central government agency, to devise a detailed project report (DPR) for the pod taxi project, which was approved in May 2023.
The alignment of PRT starts from crossroad of Sector-20 and Sector-21 along the 100-metre-wide road and has 12 stations en route till it reaches Jewar International Airport.
The 14.6-km-long project will be executed at an estimated cost of Rs 641.53 crore on a design, build, finance, operate and transfer basis.
The authority will enter into a concession agreement with the concessionaire for 35 years, for operation and maintenance of the PRT system, including two years for the construction of the PRT system.
The pod taxi connectivity will not only provide non-stop transport link with film city from international airport, but also provide connectivity to various sectors like Sector-21, 28, 29, 32, 33, 34 and 35.
The pod taxi project is planned for completion by 2024, coinciding with the launch of the first phase of the Noida airport.