The 'new' budget that the CM presented recently has tried to make way for the weird Pod Taxi project which was proposed by the earlier government.The route picked for the conceptual PRT system is starting from Trinity circle(MG rd) and heading towards HAL aiport road. This presented a problem m with the metro line of phase 3 (Hosakerehalli - Marathahalli) passing through that same route. SO the govt has taken the convinient way to scrap the metro line and favor the pod taxi's instead.
This move is very retrograde, considering the fact that the proposed metro line was slated to cater to high density residential areas to important work places. Though the route presented only UG options for most of the journey, it was still worth the cost considering the important places which would get connected with it.
The pod taxi's though might come at a fraction of the cost, where capex is concerned but opex is something that is not known as of now. Also the throughput is grossly inadequate for the section of the city that it plans to cater to.
The metro ridership saw a huge jump after the introduction of the 6 coach configuration, though it was only on the purple line and that too partially. This carries a big message for the planners. A well connected high capacity mass public transport will be well patronized. We are a country with large population and hence need only high capacity mrt options like metro.
Pod Taxi's are at best option for within airport rides as well as other enclosed spaces like shopping areas or amusement parks. It will never be able to cater to the demands of mainstream urban commute.
Hence its best that this plan for Pod Taxi's are stopped immediately and maybe pilot them in places like Nandi hills and get the metro plans back on track.
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