Watch 'The Duck', an amphibious bus that will take you on rides in Mumbai
Maharastra State authorities and the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust have joined hands in a venture to bring the vehicle to the city by October 2016.
It's a bus that looks like a boat. It's mostly used as a tourist vehicle. Tourist are given a tour of attractions on land and then with a dramatic plunge are launched into a nearby water body where the tour continues. Sounds like fun?
Introducing "The Duck", an amphibious bus that is currently being developed in Sweden at a cost of, wait for it, Rs 5 crore. It is expected to arrive on Indian shores by September and will go into service in October. The ride will last two hours, including half an hour in the sea.
Nitin Gadkari, the Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping, also wants to start a similar service on the Ganga.
For now, there are no plans to expand the fleet of Mumbai's buses to include it, so The Duck will not, as of now, revolutionise public transport.
But there might be good news for tipplers. In quite a few parts of the world, The Duck, which can carry 30-50 passengers, is a popular attraction and alcohol is served on the rides. The State government in Maharashtra is also looking to follow that tipsy path.
The plan to bring the Duck bus was initially floated in 2014.
