Esteem, Indigo taxis to hit the road soon
Mumbai’s ubiquitous yellow-black taxis will soon shy away from city lanes. This Diwali, Mumbaikars would see a spanking range of new taxis - 80 Maruti Esteem and 21 Indigo Marina - hit city roads as one of the proposed fleet taxi services commence...
By Ashish Kumar Mishra & Ritwik Donde, TNN |
MUMBAI: Mumbai’s ubiquitous yellow-black taxis will soon shy away from city lanes. This Diwali, Mumbaikars would see a spanking range of new taxis — 80 Maruti Esteem and 21 Indigo Marina — hit city roads as one of the proposed fleet taxi services commences services from October 18.
CM Vilasrao Deshmukh is expected to flag off the first 30 cabs in the city from Marine Drive. “We have obtained all necessary clearances from the state government and regional transport office (RTO),” said Arun Sabnis, managing trustee, Fulora Foundation, an NGO partnering with the state government to help set up the Mumbai Gold Taxi Company (MGTC).
New cabs were scheduled to be introduced earlier, but the plans were delayed as the proposal was pending with the RTO, which was responsible for finalising the fare structure and transfer of permits for the new models. In accordance with the RTO directions, the fares “for the normal taxi would start from Rs 15 instead of the normal Rs 13 and for the cool cabs from Rs 16,” Mr Sabnis told ET.
MGTC has already signed up around 350 drivers who have agreed to work under the terms and conditions specified in the agreement. It also claims that it has the willingness of another 3,500 additional taxi drivers, who will also initiate operations, depending on the performance of the project.
The price for the old Premier Padmini car has been fixed at Rs 35,000 which would remain with MGTC as equity by the cab-owner. MGTC would be taking the permit on a five-seven year lease from the taxi driver and, in turn, provide him a new taxi on a return lease. The old taxi surrendered by taxi drivers would mostly be scrapped and the money thus earned would be kept by the fleet service as an equity of the driver.
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Apart from the 100-odd cabs that would be introduced initially, another 300 would be introduced by first week of November. MGTC is also hopeful of increasing the numbers of the same to around 1,000 by December-end.However, the Mumbai Taximens’ Association is against the move. “We are completely opposed to this move and will protest against it as and when they hit city roads,” its president AL Quadross said.
Mr Quadross refused to part with any details of his action plan. Confronting this reaction from the union, however, Mr Sabnis said “these are vested interests of some people who want to retain the control of the entire taxi services in the city.”
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