The first-ever Ro-Pax ferry between Mumbai and Mandwa has helped reduce the travel time between Mumbai and Mandwa from approximately 4 hours by road (113 km) to 1 hour by sea (19 km).
According to the ferry operators over the past year, the service has catered to all kinds of customers from solo travellers to adventure seekers, to travel enthusiasts, to food lovers and family goers as well. "With tourism opening up, people prefer to escape the crowded chaos of cities to a more peaceful getaway and Alibuag has been just that option.
The summer in Alibaug has seen an upward trend in the number of visitors to the region which is approximately 30,000 footfalls and 5,000 vehicles," the operators stated. The service will be operating throughout the monsoon season and this will be its third year of operating in the monsoon.
The water transport service started by Mumbai Port Trust has a private operator on a revenue sharing model. The Ro-Pax has a passenger carrying capacity of 1,000. Started during the pandemic, the service initially had low footfalls but it has witnessed a steady rise inridership, the operators stated.
