Richard Branson wants hyperloop rides in India to be under $150

• Richard Branson wants hyperloop rides to costs less than $150 (approximately ₹10,000).
• Virgin Hyperloop One is currently formulating their pricing model.
  
• Their pricing model will keep Indian market’s ‘super price sensitive’ nature in mind.

A little more expensive than first class train tickets but cheaper than international airfare, the British tycoon, Richard Branson wants rides on the hyperloop in India to cost less than $150 (approximately ₹10,000).

Virgin Hyperloop One, the company that specializes in building hyperloop networks, is still trying to build a system of pods and tubes that can carry people and cargo from one place to the other.

According to Harj Dhaliwal, Hyperloop One’s managing director for the Middle East and India, the company is tailoring their pricing model to encompass India’s ‘super price sensitive’ nature.

He stated, “We are in the process of price modelling. We want to keep fares as low as possible to stimulate demand but not so cheap that will drive away financial or private investors from the project.”

Good intentions pave the way, but it may not be so easy to implement according to Mathew Antony, the managing partner at Aditya Consulting. He analysed that, “Hyperloop is an excellent idea only if it is to be developed as a mass transport mode.”

Earlier this year, the company signed a preliminary agreement with the Maharashtrian government to implement a hyperloop system between Mumbai and Pune that would cut the travel time to just 25 minutes instead of the usual 4 hours. The deadline for this project is set for 2025, after which, further plans dictate that the route will be extended to include Ahmedabad from Mumbai in another 2 years.

Virgin Hyperloop One is already testing their pods in the American state of Nevada. They’ve managed to reach speeds of 368 km/hr and plans to have three production systems in fully operational by 2021.