Belapur to Gateway water service flagged off

The much-awaited water transport service from Navi Mumbai to Mumbai, which has faced several hurdles, was once again flagged off on Tuesday with assurances that this time it is here to stay. The service that will cut travel time by 35 minutes has been priced at much cheaper rates than earlier

NAVI MUMBAI: The much-awaited water transport service from Navi Mumbai to Mumbai, which has faced several hurdles, was once again flagged off on Tuesday with assurances that this time it is here to stay. The service that will cut travel time by 35 minutes has been priced at much cheaper rates than earlier.

Navi Mumbai, India - February 07, 2023: Maharashtra Minister of Ports and Shipping Dadaji Bhuse inaugurates water taxi services between the Gateway of India and Belapur Jetty by flagging off vessel "Nayan XI", at Belapur, in Navi Mumbai, India, on Tuesday, February 07, 2023. (Photo by Bachchan Kumar/HT PHOTO) (HT PHOTO)

The water taxi service ‘Nayan XI’ from Belapur to Gateway of India (GOI) was inaugurated by minister Dadaji Bhuse in the presence of Belapur MLA Manda Mhatre. The services have been launched by MyBoatRide.com in partnership with Nayantara Shipping.

“Travel time will come down from the present 90 minutes by road to just 55 minutes by the water taxi,” said Bhuse. “As of now, a 200-seater boat has been deployed. It will provide a morning service from Belapur at 8.30 am and a return service from GOI at 6.30 pm.”

Bhuse said fares had been kept low at ₹250 and ₹350. “In the coming days, as per increase in response, we shall try to reduce the fare further and also introduce a monthly pass,” he added.

A water taxi service launched in February from Belapur to Bhau Cha Dhakka was soon closed down. Stating that this would not happen here, Bhuse added, “The problem then was that there were no proper approaches to Bhau Cha Dhakka while GOI has several good approaches. We got special case permission thanks to Mumbai Port Trust, JNPT and the state government.”

‘NAYAN XI’ has a seating capacity of 140 passengers on the lower deck and another 60 passengers on the upper/business class deck. The service is on weekdays only.

There is a weekend service from Belapur to Mandwa (Alibag) at 9 am and return at 6 pm at ₹300 per passenger.