Even before Mumbai’s ambitious pod taxi project in Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) has properly taken shape on the ground, the project has already undergone a major behind-the-scenes transformation. The UK company whose technology helped win the bid has quietly left the project, with the concessionaire replacing it with a Dutch firm through a little-known tender clause, The Indian Express has learned.

The company that exited — UK-based Ultra PRT, which runs Heathrow Airport’s pod taxi system — was the original technology provider on Sai Green Mobility’s winning bid for the project. It has now been replaced by Netherlands-based 2getthere, which was later acquired by Sai Green Mobility. The switch effectively means the technology Mumbai commuters will eventually use is no longer the same system that helped win the original bid.

The change, which unfolded largely outside public view over the last year, comes even before the project has substantially moved on the ground. With land acquisition issues now nearing resolution, barricades announcing proposed construction were put up near the BKC Metro station mid-May and soil testing work has begun.

When the pod taxi project was announced in September 2024, Ultra PRT was the only technology player involved in the bidding process. In fact, it was the technology partner on both bids submitted for the project — Sai Green Mobility’s and that of Refex Industries Ltd.

But The Indian Express has learned that the partnership between Ultra PRT and Sai Green Mobility collapsed shortly after the tender paperwork was completed. Following this, the MMRDA in September 2025 approved Sai Green Mobility’s request to replace Ultra PRT with Netherlands-based 2getthere using a little-known tender clause that allowed the technology partner to be changed during implementation. A few months later, in the summer of 2025, Sai Green Mobility acquired 2getthere.

Representatives from Sai Green Mobility refused to comment, directing all questions to MMRDA.

“Ultra PRT parted ways with Sai Green Mobility in July 2024, shortly after the paperwork for the tender process was completed but before the concession agreement was signed,” Ranbir Saran Das, chairman and owner of Ultra PRT Ltd, confirmed to The Indian Express, attributing the parting to “business differences”.

“We were to supply the pods and system at a cost, while Sai Green Mobility would be responsible for all the procedural and civil works, and own the project,” he said. As per Das, the technology component accounted for roughly 30 percent of the project cost. More significantly, Ultra PRT’s experience of operating a pod taxi system since 2011 helped bidders meet the technical criteria required for qualification.

At the time bids were submitted, Sai Green Mobility had only recently been incorporated, in March 2024. A subsidiary of Sai Wardha Power Generation Pvt Ltd, it had no prior experience in pod taxi systems. Refex Industries, the only other bidder, primarily operates in coal and ash management.

Since neither bidder had prior experience operating pod taxi systems, both depended heavily on Ultra PRT’s credentials to qualify technically for the project. To get around this, bidders approached the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) seeking changes in tender conditions so that technical and financial eligibility could be jointly fulfilled by members of a joint venture, rather than only by the lead bidder. Tender addendums accessed by The Indian Express show the request was accepted by the MMRDA.

Sai Green Mobility eventually won the bid by offering the MMRDA a higher annual revenue share than Refex Industries.

Even as the agreement was being finalised, however, the relationship between Sai Green Mobility and Ultra PRT had begun to deteriorate. Das said a patch-up was attempted later that year, but Ultra PRT declined. Following Ultra PRT’s exit, Sai Green Mobility invoked a clause inserted into the contract during pre-bid discussions that allowed the technology partner to be replaced during implementation, subject to MMRDA approval and the replacement company meeting technical qualifications.

“The clause was added so that the city is not stuck and restricted to one particular technology, making it entirely dependent on that company for parts, repairs, maintenance and the system as a whole,” an MMRDA official, who did not wish to be identified, told this newspaper.

According to MMRDA officials, Sai Green Mobility in July 2025 approached the authority proposing 2getthere as a replacement, arguing that its system was “more advanced and robust” than Ultra PRT’s technology and better suited for BKC’s requirements.

2getthere currently operates pod taxi systems in Rotterdam and Abu Dhabi, allowing it to meet the tender’s technical eligibility conditions requiring operational experience on a minimum 3-km track length.

After Sai Green Mobility formally submitted its request to replace Ultra PRT with 2getthere, the MMRDA constituted a technical committee, including experts from IIT and Metro systems, to evaluate the proposal. “The committee undertook a comprehensive review, including an in-person technical presentation by 2getthere’s team, who travelled from the Netherlands to demonstrate their system capabilities,” an MMRDA spokesperson said in response to questions emailed by The Indian Express.

The authority eventually approved the change in September 2025. Parallelly, Sai Green Mobility acquired 2getthere in the summer of 2025, as confirmed by Micheal Brecht from Hampleton Partners, which facilitated the sale. Lawyers said such an arrangement was unusual in infrastructure partnerships, though not prohibited under the contract.