[scopriobharath]

Originally Posted by Dry Ice

Agree with both of you. Even I am not sure if there is any such rule barring a particular model from being registered as a commercial vehicle. In fact, the reverse is quite common and is valid for pickups where payload > passenger capacity.

Having said that, I don't recall seeing *any* of the luxo barges on yellow plates. Almost all of them seem to be on black plates (w/ yellow letters). These types of plates are usually most seen in Goa rental market. Legally only these can be let out as self drives and the driver need not hold a commercial vehicle license.

Apart from the license thingy for the driver, I am guessing there must be a difference in the tax structure, fitness requirements, permit requirements for yellow and black plates.

I have very much seen yellow board, commercial taxi registration on Audis, BMWs and Accords. The risk of running a black+yellow (self drive) board is that, in case of any anti-social activity or stuff like contraband is caught in a car, the "renter" is responsible and not the passenger. Now, A drug peddler can stay in a 5 star hotel and if caught, can disown the drug. Now in this case, the hotel would be help responsible, which the hotel would not want.

Oh yes !! The tax strucuture and fitness requirements are something different for commercial vehicles.

[Ashley2]

Registering a particular car as a Taxi depends on the individual company and it may vary state to state. So a car registered as a Taxi in near by state, can not necessarily be registered in other state, as it requires STA for that particular state and it's specific. I'm not very sure Maruti has STA for Alto in TN unlike HP where it's a popular Taxi.

Originally Posted by manikjeet

The Customer wants a more upmarket car. So their are no takers for Indica and go. And also Anything is better than a TATA.

PS These are not my words but from a Person who is into this business for about 20 years now.

I expected the same. Able to see a massive shift in Taxi operators in other locations. Unfortunately Tata has not utilized the long honey moon period to improve upon their reliability and durability.

[JoseVijay]

The following are my choices

Chevy Enjoy
Toyota Etios
Mahindra Logan
Mahindra Xylo
Toyota Innova

[Mordred]

Originally Posted by DWind

Talking of Taxi Operations I do not see any AL Stile on the road? It was targeted specifically for Commercial operation or did the operators found it too basic to their liking?

Originally Posted by eyesice

Here in Chennai, I am off late seeing, Ritz and Beat being driven as taxis.

Originally Posted by scopriobharath

I have very much seen yellow board, commercial taxi registration on Audis, BMWs and Accords. The risk of running a black+yellow (self drive) board is that, in case of any anti-social activity or stuff like contraband is caught in a car, the "renter" is responsible and not the passenger. Now, A drug peddler can stay in a 5 star hotel and if caught, can disown the drug. Now in this case, the hotel would be help responsible, which the hotel would not want.

Oh yes !! The tax strucuture and fitness requirements are something different for commercial vehicles.

In kerala there is also an added advantage of having a subsidy of 4% ex showroom price if the vehicle is registered and maintajned as a taxi for 3 years. So audis and bmws will be seen a lot more here. Also the life tax is not paid in this case but instead a portion of it.

[scopriobharath]

Well - I quite did not get the mottoe behind this thread. The title says Indica, but we are discussing all other MUVs / Luxury cars too.

Indica caters to the basic segment, now taken over from Maruti omni. It caters to call taxi and the late night home drop services.

There are multiple options for every segment. Now, an MUV segment wont even look at Indica. They would go with Sumo, Tavera and likes. Luxury people mover would opt Xylo / Innova / Scorpio.

A "Luxury" resort would go with Mercs, BMWs and Audis.

So - I feel that there are a plethora of options in every segment. It is not only Indica, but there are tons of choices available.

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by scopriobharath

Well - I quite did not get the mottoe behind this thread. The title says Indica, but we are discussing all other MUVs / Luxury cars too.

So - I feel that there are a plethora of options in every segment. It is not only Indica, but there are tons of choices available.

Quoting the OP's post (Who has revived the thread since 2009), he is a Taxi fleet operator and wants to know which is the next best vehicle after the Indica. So he needs suggestions so that he can replace them.

I know there are wide range of choices in every segment but it is not clear as to which one the OP (Mordred) wants. I guess it could be the Indica segment since he is comparing it with the rest.

Originally Posted by Mordred

Hey guys, I am a taxi operator in kerala,

I mean a lot has changed since then.

mainly because I want my drivers to enjoy and my passengers feel pampered. Bored of the Etios. Any suggestions?

Anurag.

[Mordred]

Well I didnt want to start a new thread unnecessarily, so and I am still at vento, trying to negotiate the showroom guys into giving me the car for free. Lol

[scopriobharath]

Originally Posted by a4anurag

Quoting the OP's post (Who has revived the thread since 2009), he is a Taxi fleet operator and wants to know which is the next best vehicle after the Indica. So he needs suggestions so that he can replace them.

I know there are wide range of choices in every segment but it is not clear as to which one the OP (Mordred) wants. I guess it could be the Indica segment since he is comparing it with the rest.

Well, in that case, all the posts suggesting MUVs and BMWs are all off-topic posts. There are a couple of posts that suggests Enjoy / Ertiga / Tavera / Innova. These vehicles can no way be a replacement for indica as they cater to MUV segment and not barebones transport category.

Indica can be replaced by just any small car (CNG). All Marutis (wagon R and Santro) and Hyundais have a good service network. I have spoken to many taxi fellows in Mumbai and they vouch for Santro CNG. They are very happy with the car and also tell that maintenance is easy on the pocket. Like Indica, even satro is serviceable at all local garages.

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by scopriobharath

Indica can be replaced by just any small car (CNG). All Marutis (wagon R and Santro) and Hyundais have a good service network. I have spoken to many taxi fellows in Mumbai and they vouch for Santro CNG. They are very happy with the car and also tell that maintenance is easy on the pocket. Like Indica, even satro is serviceable at all local garages.

Agree with you and moreover I would say along with Santro, the WagonR will be a good choice too.

AFAIK and IIRC there are a few cities who are using the WagonR and Santro as taxi's.

Anurag.

[hserus]

I have seen the Maruti Eeco being used as a taxi by for example Wings Cabs in Pune.

It is somewhat between a WagonR and a MUV - and so certainly much more legroom and boot space, and quite cheap to operate. Sounds like a decent enough choice.

No power steering or AC in lower end models of course, but many cheaper cab services operate an ac or non ac type choice in their service.

[isandy]

Toyota Liva would be a straight and better replacement of Indica and Toyota Etios for Indigo. Both operational costs and maintenance cost would be better compared to Indica.

[hserus]

Do remember that any model at all that gets widely used as a taxi will generally see its sales drop like a stone in the private car market.

The manufacturers will also tend to, over time, skimp on build quality (not important for a taxi driver) and start to add features that the cab operators value more such as boot space and lower costs.

They do have to reduce costs because the expenditure over and above that to get the vehicle licensed as a taxi and appropriately insured are far higher than for a personal car.

However the net result will be that the car will gradually become unsuitable for personal use. I wouldn't want that happening to the Liva.

[silversteed]

Originally Posted by theexperthand

Of late, I am seeing Fiat Punto as taxis here - saw a recently delivered one today (the old model, not the Evo).
Also, saw a Vibe taxi on my recent trip to Kerala.

Fiat is offering a mouth-watering discount on the older Punto - a neighbour got the Emotion (or E-pk, not sure) variant for 6.8L on-road in Bangalore. So, the Active would probably sell in Kerala for around 5.5L, considering the annual permit/tax for yellow-plate vehicles and the discounts on list price. Spacious boot, premium feel, and the driver can also enjoy the ride - some cabbies find it a good proposition.

Originally Posted by girishglg

Recently have seen many Micras as taxis especially in the Ola colours!

That's the Ola Mini cabs - they claim to be cheaper than auto-rickshaws - Rs.100 for less than 6km, and Rs.10/km beyond 6km. They have Micras and Livas in good numbers, a few Ritz and some rare to catch Figos.

[sandeepmohan]

My pick will be the Toyota Liva/Etios. I think the car offers more passenger room, comfort and most important is that it is much more forgiving for the driver. I bet it is more reliable and efficient too. The build quality may not inspire much confidence but trust me, the interiors of the Toyota hold up much better than a Tata.

The drone of an Indica drive train is really bad and gets to you after a point. It struck me when I was cabbing it to work for close to two months due to a medical condition last year. My regular cab was a Indica which had about 55,000 on the odo. I first thought the car was outstanding and very comfortable. Then one day a Etios turned up with about 22,000km on the odo and that is when I realized the difference. Everything about the car is better. The db of the air conditioning was also lower and these small things do make a difference. Though far from being quiet, I felt the suspension was better. You could hear the engine but it was non intrusive and there was no drive train drone filtering into the cabin. With a commute lasting close to 2.5 hours a day, I stepped out of the car feeling much better. The Indica would tire me after the journey.

[r3ckl355]

I think the ford figo diesel would fit the role perfectly. It has ample lot of space for passengers and also boot space!! Toyota etios liva is also a good choice.
But i'm not sure of the maintenance costs!!