WagonR cabs to replace taxis in Mumbai

August 16, 2007

The black and yellow cabs that vroom past the highways and alleys of Mumbai may soon be a thing of the past. A report said that Mumbai’s cabbies are currently in parleys with Maruti Udyog to replace the existing taxis with a new fleet of Wagon Rs. Taking things forward, three major taxi unions in the city launched their own modern versions of a cab at a function organised as part of the bid to modernize the city’s taxis.

The talks with Maruti to replace the existing black-and-yellow cabs with the Wagon R come as the next big step. The aim is to make the new Wagon R
taxis financially viable not only to cabbies and Maruti, but also to the average Mumbaikar. Cabbies feel that it will be possible to run an air-conditioned cab at the existing fare of Rs 13 and Wagon R is the selected model. Mumbai has a fleet of over 55,000 taxis — the black-and-yellow ones with a minimum fare of Rs 13 and Rs 1.50 for every 1.6 subsequent km, and Cool Cabs, the air-conditioned version, with a minimum fare of Rs 16.50.

The government is also keen to offer a helping hand in this regard. According to the government, Mumbai is a world-class city and taxis are the city’s first impression for any newcomer. The need to upgrade the taxis comes because of this and the government has offered all help in this regard.

A function held recently saw as many as 11 new Maruti Esteems being inducted in the Cool Cab fleet. The new Esteems will run on CNG and will have electronic meters. There are also plans for the taxis to go high-tech with radio connectivity and satellite navigators to be part of the fleet.