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<keyword id="3711125" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Pod-taxis">Pod taxis</keyword>, a result of a project called the Metrino-a PRT system in which pods are suspended from an overhead rail -has been under consideration for a while and will finally debut in <keyword id="6361586" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Gurgaon">Gurgaon</keyword> 
 The <keyword id="87432" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="National-Highways-Authority-of-India">National Highways Authority of India</keyword> has laid the groundwork to roll out India's first personal rapid transit (PRT) network and will invite global bids for the project within the next fortnight. The pilot project will span a 13km stretch from the Gurgaon-Delhi border to Badshapur Mod on Sohna Road and is estimated to cost Rs 850 crore. 
 
Every pod can take up to five passengers. For the pilot project route, 16 stations have been planned, starting near Ambience Mall. A personal rapid transit (PRT) network is made up of small automated vehicles running at close intervals on a guideway with docking stations for passengers to get on and get off.While a pod can accommodate up to five people, there there is also an option to hire an entire pod that will take a passenger straight to the destination, skipping the scheduled stops. The average speed of the pods is 60kmph. 
 
A senior NHAI official said the network would be built within a year of the contract being awarded. "Pod taxi systems are best suited for this. We are keeping our options open, though, so that private players can come up with best system, including skyrail," the official said. A skyrail is also a PRT system, but is more similar to a ropeway . 
 
The NHAI official said land required for the project is already available with it and Haryana government agencies. The project does not need forest and environmental clearance. As for financing, the entire investment will be made by the private company that sets up the PRT. Under the terms of the agreement, the company will recover its investment in 25 years through tickets. 
 Union road transport and highways minister <keyword id="26680" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Nitin-gadkari">Nitin Gadkari</keyword> had announced last year that Metrinos will run between Dhaula Kuan in Delhi and Manesar. The overhead network for Metrinos has been planned along the expressway . Prime Minister <keyword id="6354477" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi">Narendra Modi</keyword> had travelled in a pod in Masdar City during his last visit to the United Arab Emirates. 
 
The Punjab and Haryana governments had, in the past, announced a rollout of pod taxis in Amritsar and Gurgaon, but these never came to fruition. 
 According to estimates prepared by the NHAI, while while building a kilometre of Metro costs at least Rs 250 crore and of monorail Rs 200 crore, the <keyword id="6714406" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Metrino">Metrino</keyword> system can be built with just Rs 70 crore. It's lighter as well. 
 
"The NHAI will roll out the project soon. We have set a target of a year. Subsequently , we could extend this to Dhaula Kuan and Manesar on each side," said the NHAI official. 
 
Image credit: Indiatimes

Say goodbye to traffic: Pod Taxis to debut in Gurgaon

<ul><li>Indian billionaire <keyword id="3820" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mukesh-Ambani">Mukesh Ambani</keyword> has upped the stakes with an investment of $25.76 million in <keyword id="2392602" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="skytran">skyTran</keyword>, acquiring a majority stake.</li><li>skyTran, not unlike <keyword id="6355315" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="elon-musk">Elon Musk</keyword>’s <keyword id="6396317" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Hyperloop">Hyperloop</keyword>, used the power of magnets to offer a carbon emissions-free of travelling faster within urban cities.</li><li>Hyperloop already has three projects going in India — Mumbai to Pune, Bengaluru Airport connectivity, and Delhi to Chandigarh.</li></ul>A battle of the billionaires is unfolding in India between Asia’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani and founder of <keyword id="6360701" type="DEFINITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="spacex">SpaceX</keyword> and <keyword id="107096" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Tesla">Tesla</keyword>, Elon Musk. Ambani’s <keyword id="6355199" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="reliance-industries">Reliance Industries</keyword> has acquired a US-based transportation company developing pod taxis, that the conglomerate initially invested in three years ago, through its subsidiary Reliance Strategic Business Ventures. Both skyTran and Musk’s Hyperloop are in the business of making pod taxis. Also called personal rapid transit (PRT), these are a type of small public transport facility that feature small automated vehicles that operate within a network of specially built tracks. <div type="image" title="skytran pod_edited" msid="81267236" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;SkyTran&amp;#39;s pod taxis for intra-city transport&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> Hyperloop and skyTran taxis use the power of magnets to move around at speeds that can theoretically reach upto <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/virgin-hyperloop-one-has-hired-on-one-of-the-worlds-most-experienced-transit-executives-as-its-new-ceo/articleshow/66549678.cms">240 kilometres per hour.</a> Hyperloop, already, has three projects in the works within India. One connecting Mumbai to Pune, another increasing the connectivity to the Bangalore International Airport and the latest endeavour to connect Chandigarh to India’s capital city, New Delhi. <div type="image" title="virgin hyperloop india_edited" msid="81267192" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Elon Musk-owned Virgin Hyperloop One&amp;#39;s pod for the Mumbai-Pune connectivity project&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> “skyTran has developed breakthrough passive magnetic levitation and propulsion technology for implementing personal transportation systems aimed at solving the problem of traffic congestion globally,” said Reliance in its <a href="https://www.bseindia.com/xml-data/corpfiling/AttachLive/352332a8-a32a-49d5-a45d-6ae3c68b2da1.pdf">regulatory filing</a>. This comes within days of Ambani announcing that he will <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/mukesh-ambani-says-he-will-make-batteries-ahead-of-a-boom-in-electric-vehicles/articleshow/81166590.cms">make batteries</a> for electric vehicles ahead of the boom resonating with Musk’s plans with Tesla. While Tesla makes its lionshare of revenue from the actual cars, Musk has invested in energy generation and storage in a big way. Musk had earlier revealed that his company may set up a <a href="https://www.electrive.com/2020/12/29/tesla-makes-headway-in-germany-and-india/">Gigafactory within India</a> once it starts manufacturing electrical vehicles in India. Its office is already set up in Bangalore with plans for a manufacturing plant soon to follow, according to <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/tesla-to-set-up-electric-car-manufacturing-unit-in-karnataka/articleshow/80900006.cms">reports</a>. skyTran vs Hyperloop The idea to introduce pod taxis in India was led by Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, in 2016. A year later, in 2017, a panel headed by Indian government’s policy think tank NITI Aayog cleared the ministry’s proposal to test three rapid transport systems using pod taxis. The short-listed candidates were New Zealand’s Metrino Personal Rapid Transit, UK’s Ultra Global PRT and US-based skyTran. Ultra Global uses rubber tyres that run on specially made tracks and Metrino’s pods are suspended from overhead rails. Of the three, skyTran is the only one that uses magnetic levitation to move pod taxis from point to point, making it the only competitor to Hyperloop’s hopes in India. Rather than typing up with the central government, Hyperloop chose to work on projects with state governments. It has been working with the Maharashtra government to build the world’s first commercial Hyperloop corridor running between Pune and Mumbai. The Musk-owned enterprise is also working on increasing connectivity to the Bangalore Airport. In November last year, Hyperloop had a major breakthrough. It successfully <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/hyperloop-pod-carries-two-humans-through-a-tube-at-over-160-kmph-for-the-first-time-ever/articleshow/79121765.cms">carried two humans</a> through a tube in one of its magnetically levitated pods at 160 kilometers per hour. <div type="javascript" title="Custom" contenttype="Video"><cdata><![CDATA[]]></cdata></div> Both of these companies may use magnetically levitating taxis to bet on the future but there is a key difference in the application of their respective technologies. Hyperloop is great for travelling longer distances, more between cities than within the city itself. skyTran, on the other hand, is focused on intra-city transport. Reliance started out by acquiring 12.7% of skyTran in October 2018. Next year, in November 2019, ir raised its stake to 17.37%,. By April 2020, Reliance put in a third tranche of investment to bring its stake up <a href="https://www.livemint.com/companies/news/ril-raises-stake-in-us-based-skytran-to-26-3-11588157023518.html">to 26.3%</a>. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/mukesh-ambani-ratan-tata-and-anand-mahindra-might-come-together-for-indias-new-national-hydrogen-mission/articleshow/80645570.cms">Mukesh Ambani, Ratan Tata, and Anand Mahindra might come together for India’s new National Hydrogen Mission</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/mukesh-ambani-says-he-will-make-batteries-ahead-of-a-boom-in-electric-vehicles/articleshow/81166590.cms">Mukesh Ambani says he will make batteries ahead of a boom in electric vehicles⁠</a>

Elon Musk is facing a challenge from Asia’s richest man Mukesh Ambani in India⁠— both in energy and transportation

The Indian Government is planning massive changes in transportation sector and adding a dash of tech to it. Government’s think-tank <keyword id="2665691" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Niti-Aayog">Niti Aayog</keyword> has approved six proposals for high-tech public transport, which will improve travel experience. The transport ministry has constituted a six-member committee which will be headed by a former top official of Railways. The committee will study safety parameters associated with these technologies and global practices. "These new technologies are path breaking and can alter the way of intercity travel in the country. Since we don't have any such thing in India, we need to know the global safety standards and ensure that these technology companies are following it. Even for the pilot project, passenger safety is paramount,” a senior transport ministry official told ET. As part of the plan, six major technologies such as metrino, stadler buses, hyperloop, pod taxis, hybrid buses and freight rail road will be tested in India. "Something like metrino (pod taxis) is almost one tenth of the cost of the metro, so there's a cost advantage as well. However, technologies such as hyperloop can take some time but we would like them to come to India,” the official told ET.

India to see massive tech upgradation; Delhi to Mumbai travel may become possible within an hour

The work on Indian government’s ambitious ‘Metrino’ project is going to begin in next two months and travelling in <keyword id="3333415" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="driverless-pods">driverless pods</keyword> will soon turn into a reality. 
 
The Nitin Gadkari-led Road and Transport Ministry has received four tenders for the Rs 4, 000 crore ambitious project. 
 
"We have received four tenders for Metrino project to be build from Dhaula Kuan in Delhi to Manesar in Haryana. We have received four tenders for that and expect the work to begin in the two months," said Gadkari. 
 
The ropeway like system that runs on electricity and driverless pods will decongest the traffic on the 70 kilometre stretch. 
 
“The capital cost of Metrino is Rs 50 crore per km against Rs 250 crore per km of the metro,” said Gadkari. 
 
Under the project, fully automatic, driverless small pods travel independently suspended over an overhead network which is usually 5-10 meters above ground. 
 
A few months back a presentation on the project was made before Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Union Cabinet. 
 
Gadkari said the massive work is underway to reform the face of the highways sector and the pilot project will be one such step in the direction. 
 
(Image: Thinkstock)

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Say goodbye to traffic: Pod Taxis to debut in Gurgaon

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Elon Musk is facing a challenge from Asia’s richest man Mukesh Ambani in India⁠— both in energy and transportation

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India to see massive tech upgradation; Delhi to Mumbai travel may become possible within an hour

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Travelling in driverless pods is going to be a reality soon in Delhi-NCR

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