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Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has a high-tech solution that will address commuters' problems in one shot: Pod taxis. And he is serious about it.

As Gurgaon residents well know, the city roads are an optical illusion. The unbroken chain of craters and ditches that pass for roads have for long burned holes in the pockets and hearts of the residents.

But, if Hooda has his way, you could bypass the troublesome roads altogether. " Pod taxis seem to be the best way to take public transport through all the built up areas," Hooda told TOI in an exclusive interview. Clearly, the chief minister aims high.

The CM believes that these battery-operated, driverless vehicles that run on an elevated track, will begin to ply in the next few years and connect people point to point - what the government claims as "providing last mile connectivity".

Highly placed sources in the Haryana government said the project would be implemented in the public private partnership (PPP) mode, with a total investment of Rs 5,000 crore.

The government is looking at introducing about 1,100 pod taxis initially. "We want the pod taxi facility to connect all commercial and residential complexes in the city. Taking public transport to that point is our aim," said the chief minister. The proposed ticket rate is Rs 10. He added that the government had already completed the detailed project report.

"I hope Gurgaon will be the first city in India to get such a facility. It will cover both new and old parts of the city," Hooda said.

Officials said the service would offer a solution to Gurgaon's mobility problem. "You don't need to depend on rickshaws or taxis to move within the city. This will also be a solution to commuting from Metro stations to the workplace or home," they said.

YA SURE M.R HOOOOODA. ILLITERATE HARYANA POLITICIANS CAN'T EVEN PROVIDE BASIC ROADS AND PUBLIC TRANSPORT AND TALKING ABOUT POD TAXIS IS SO STUPID. ITS LIKE AN ELDERLY PERSON PROMISING A KID THAT HE WOULD BUT HIM AN AEROPLANE JUST TO SHUT HIM UP. SHAAABHASH HUDA/HOODA JI.