Tender for Dhaula Kuan-Manesar driverless pod taxi in February: Nitin Gadkari

After years of delay, India’s first driverless pod taxi system between Dhaula Kuan and Haryana’s Manesar is finally going to be a reality as the tender for the project is going to be floated in February.

Union road transport minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday said that the project, known as Metrino, was stuck due to safety issues which have been cleared now. “Our big plan to start Metrino on the 70-km stretch is on track. Next month we will issue the tender for the project,” Gadkari said while speaking at an event on Traffic Safety Management System (TSMS) in Delhi.

Gadkari said that pollution was one of the biggest problems and the Metrino project would help decongest the busy the stretch. The minister added that the road widening project to clear the Dhaula Kuan stretch has also picked up pace as the defence ministry has agreed to give land for the project.

A memorandum of understanding was also signed between the Delhi Police and automobile manufacturer Maruti Suzuki on Tuesday for implementing the TSMS which will be set from Dhaula Kuan to Sarai Kale Khan in a year’s time. The system will have cameras with HD radar technology that would automatically detect violations like jumping the signal and over speeding.

“We are also expecting two projects to be completed in next two months which is expected to take off 50% of Delhi’s traffic woes. These include the 14-lane Delhi-Meerut Expressway and the Eastern and Western Peripheral Expressways,” Gadkari said.

The minister added that India would start the intelligent traffic management system in all its highways.

L-G calls for study on traffic management

Expressing concern over the increasing vehicular population, Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal called for a study to identify roads in Delhi that could be turned into single carriageways. He asked the traffic police to conduct a study by engaging global experts to identify roads where only one-way traffic could be allowed.

“We cannot afford to continue running traffic on both the carriageways in Delhi because irrespective of the width of the road, we are not able to move traffic in time...,” Baijal said.

He also asked agencies to look at imposing congestion charges. “In a lot of cities abroad, congestion charges are automatically deducted as soon as one enters a congested road. This is done under the electronic road pricing (ERP) system. We need to use this method among others,” the L-G said.