Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray and Union Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated the water taxi service on February 17 to connect Navi Mumbai and Mumbai. Connecting Belapur to the Domestic Cruise Terminal or Bhaucha Dhakka, in South Mumbai, it was said to reduce travel time from about 90 minutes by road to 25 minutes along the coastline. But since then, in 10 days, the boat service has run just three trips between the two locations while for mass transport, the catamaran ferry has had no trips at all due to lack of interest of commuters, according to operators. Amit Saini, CEO of Maharashtra Maritime Board, the project’s nodal agency, was quoted in an IE report saying that a meeting will be conducted on March 2 with all stakeholders to find a solution to the matter.

According to the CEO, there are connectivity issues between DCT and the main points in South Mumbai. He said that there is a need to provide end-to-end service from the jetty. For these services, the contract was given to three operators- two to run speedboats while the third for the catamaran ferry. The speed boat can accommodate around 12 people and cover the distance in 25 minutes to 30 minutes, with a one-way ticket of Rs 1,210. The catamaran ferry can accommodate as many as 56 passengers for the 45-minute journey with a ticket priced much lower at Rs 290 (cost of an AC train ticket is Rs 210, and the fare of AC taxi adds up to Rs 900).

I Y Mukadam, the catamaran contractor, was quoted in the report saying that since February 18, not a single service has been operated as not a single passenger was present for the trip. According to Mukadam, an amount of Rs 27,000 costs for operating one trip on a catamaran and at least 50 passengers are needed. My Boat Ride and Mumbai Water Taxi are the other two operators, which provide speedboat services on Belapur-DCT, Belapur-Elephanta as well as DCT-Elephanta routes. According to MMB CEO Saini, the Elephanta service on the weekends is receiving good response.

According to a representative of Mumbai Water Taxi, they have managed to operate one service from DCT to Belapur, as well as two services from Belapur to DCT. The response is low and many people who inquire online or phone numbers, do not turn up after checking the fare. A representative of My Boat Ride said that from Belapur to Mumbai, they have not managed to operate a single speedboat service but they have been operating the Belapur-Elephanta service. According to several commuters between Navi Mumbai and Mumbai, more than the fare, lack of connectivity is the major issue.