Alappuzha: Kerala is all set to experiment with a 10-seater water taxis, the first of which will be launched next month in the backwaters of Alappuzha district.
The state water transport department had placed orders for four boats that can be operated as taxis for public use after conducting studies last year. This is the first time that a ‘water taxi’ facility is being launched by the government in Kerala. “Just like taxis on roads, these boats will be available for the public. They can call on a specific phone number and the boat will pick them up and drop them at their destination. The tariff will be on a per-hour basis and will be reasonable,” said director, SWTD.
Unlike the regular fleet of the SWTD which operate on fixed routes, the ‘water taxis’ will simply be connected to a boat station and can be hailed anywhere. The first of the four boats will set sail by the first week of October in the backwaters of Alappuzha, a key region on the state’s tourist map. The location of the other three boats hasn’t been decided yet.
The boats have been built by Navgathi, a Kochi-based firm that gave India its first solar ferry Aditya which was the world’s best electric boat as part of the Gustave Trouve awards this year. Aditya was launched in 2017 amid much fanfare on the popular Vaikom-Thavanakkadavu route on the Vembanad backwaters in Kerala. “Normally, such boats can be built in three months. But with the process of approval by the Indian Register of Shipping, it takes around six months. It has taken longer now, due to the pandemic.”
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