Taxi! The shrill call and then the wait for Mumbai?s ubiquitous black and yellow cabs. The screech of tyres, the banging of the rusty doors, worn out floor mats, and the rickety engines is a familiar sight. In two months time, a part of the 55,000 fleet of taxis in Mumbai will be slowly phased out from the streets and zooming off in their place would most likely be the Maruti Suzuki Omni, wearing yellow and black. Other models looked at include Maruti Suzuki WagonR, Tata Motors Indigo and Hyundai Santro.
With around 30,000 of such cabs to be given exit chit in the next one and half years, it leaves the huge taxi market of the financial capital open for car manufacturers who have already started wooing the authorities for cracking the large orders. For the most immediate future, the replacement figure stands at 10,000 cabs. This is in line with the government resolution to phase out taxis over 25 years old. It is worth noting that 5,000 of the total taxis in the city are already new generation cars under the ?cool cab? category.
?Maruti Suzuki Omni looks most ideal for the taxi service considering its price and maintenance cost. We are negotiating with the company and the decision will be taken in another two to three days,? said taximen union leader, AL Quadros. He added that around 500 Omnis should be arriving in the next two months? time phasing out the existing ageing taxis. According to a source, Maruti Suzuki has already showcased Omni fitted electronic meter to the regional transport office (RTO).
When quizzed a Maruti Suzuki spokesperson said, ?We have a strong presence in the taxi business. This is a new business avenue and is expanding. There are things moving in this direction.? He did not divulge more details about how much the taxi business contributes to the company?s kitty. There are Omni vans running on the Delhi roads as taxis. There are around 14,000 metered taxis in Delhi.
The Omni cabs will be five plus one seaters and cost around Rs 1,89,000 (ex-showroom Mumbai) which with CNG, insurance, yellow and black paint and electronic metre comes to Rs 2,25,000 on road in Mumbai. ?These cars are expensive and we would need 90% financing which is a problem,? said a concerned taxi driver. In line with it, the taxi drivers are asking for extension of the deadline and plan to go on strike on October 16 as a gesture of protest. Quadros on the other hand said that the union will be helping out for arranging finance.
These new taxis will take a little getting used to; for their doors need not be banged or the windows not winded up or down with effort, its seats will not be smelly or dirty as of now. Go ahead. Hail the modern new generation taxi with the same shrill. Or wait. Make that tone a little gentle.
