GURUGRAM: Three companies have submitted bids to the National Highways Authority of India ( NHAI ) to run pod taxis in Gurugram, a pet project of Union minister Nitin Gadkari The bids came after the NHAI invited expressions of interest (EoI) in March 2018. The bids are currently under evaluation, according to NHAI’s reply to a right to information query.Among the bidders are Ultra Pod, which runs pods at Heathrow airport in London and skyTran, a US-based company, officials said.One of the conditions for a company to be chosen is that it should have technology needed to run a project of the scale that has been proposed in Gurugram, over 12.3km and 14 stations. If not, a pilot track of 1km has to be built and the technology tested before it’s extended to the entire stretch.The Rs 4,000-crore project, proposed by Gadkari, has been on the cards since 2016. NHAI has been mandated to execute it on a public-private partnership basis.“Three bids for this project have been received. I can’t say more about the project,” an NHAI official said.The project envisages automated electric pod cars operating like taxis for small groups of people, say six, along a dedicated track.The EoI document says pods “will reduce traffic congestion, especially in peak hours and increase accessibility and mobility levels within the city”.The fares, it says, will be maintained on a par with the existing transport system. In the first year of commercial operations, the pod project is expected to have 800-1100 cars.Experts, however, are sceptical about the feasibility of such a project.Dr Ashish Verma of the department of civil engineering at Indian Institute of Science (Bangalore), said, “Pod taxis in European countries can be seen at airports and amusement parks. Nowhere in the world have pod taxis been used as a public transport system. The government should ensure there’s an adequate number of buses in the city, instead of pod taxis. I hope the authorities do their research before implementing the project.”The RTI application was filed by Gurugram-based activist Aseem Takyar.

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