[TusharK]

Mumbai's black-and-yellow cabs will soon be getting roof-top indicators. The Maharashtra transport department will install them on new taxis registered from February 1, 2020.



The roof-mounted indicators will have green, red and white coloured LEDs to signal if the cab is free or occupied. A green light would indicate that the cab is available, while red would mean the cab is occupied. A white light would indicate that the cab is off duty. The indicators will have letters 'For Hire', 'Hired' and 'Off Duty' in both English and Marathi languages.

According to a media report, the state government has issued a notification for the installation of indicators on taxis. The government has also asked regional transport authorities to decide the date of fixing indicators on cabs registered till January 2020.

The transport commissioner will decide the date of fitting the roof-top indicators on auto-rickshaws.

Source

[Dieseltuned]

Looking at the number of scrupulous elements plying in the name of taxi drivers and rickshaw drivers in the city, this is just a sham. It is as simple as flipping a button and changing the status on the board by the driver. How is this going to address the problem of drivers refusing rides left , right and center ? How is this going to solve the problem of unauthorised sharing rides that have cropped up across the city. A big sham. Nothing else.

[sidpunjabi]

I believe this is a great initiative by the transport department.

With the disappearance of the mechanical meter (and the classic Padmini on whose bonnet it used to sit), there's no real indication of whether a passing cab is empty or on a journey. One has to really exercise the neck to spot passengers in the rear seat of an otherwise seemingly empty taxi.

At least now, one does not have to resort to flagging every passing cab, hoping it to be empty.