Russia's capital city Moscow plans to incorporate a fleet of fully electric passenger ferries into its public transport network from summer 2022 as it seeks to reduce the dependence on cars.
The 42-passenger boats will be ~22 m in length and equipped with Wi-Fi, USB charging points, tables for working commuters, dedicated places for scooters and bicycles.
The exact number of boats has yet to be decided. However, Moscow Transport confirmed that two routes capable of transporting up to 16,000 passengers daily have already been mapped out.
Maksim Liksutov (Moscow’s Deputy Mayor for Transport) said in 2022 electric vessels would be able to take passengers to the other riverbank up to 5 times faster than any other city public transport and even 2 times faster than a car.
Passengers will be able to pay for the trip via bank cards, the city’s Troika card (smart card for travel by any public transportation) or biometric payment cards. Those with monthly/yearly public transit tickets will use the boats at no extra cost.
Sergei Sobyanin (Moscow's Mayor) recently inspected a prototype ship model and the city invited residents to submit feedback on the future service.