[rajeev k]

Originally Posted by Nissan1180

Great thread! I have another question- who decides which car can be used as a Taxi?

Is there such a rstriction. Last week I saw a KL 01 registered Duster taxi at Kochi. And I have seen XUV 5oo, Ritz, Alto and Santro taxis.

[Nissan1180]

Originally Posted by rajeev k

Is there such a rstriction. Last week I saw a KL 01 registered Duster taxi at Kochi. And I have seen XUV 5oo, Ritz, Alto and Santro taxis.

In Kolkata there used to be a restriction on the vehicles that could be registered as Taxis. I think the restriction is with respect to taxis that ply with a fare meter. Travel operators are not put under such restrictions.
A clarification on this would be helpful.

[fx45]

I agree with the Datsun Go Plus in CNG. It can be the perfect Mumbai-Pune Cool cab that starts from Dadar. Good luggage space and space for CNG Tank as well. That third-row seat anyway is a joke!

Seeing some Ritz and i10 taxi's as well in Mumbai these days. I guess the 4-cyl engine rule for Taxis in Mumbai is no more active, else one wouldnt see new Ritz taxis's on the streets.

[raj_5004]

Originally Posted by fx45

Seeing some Ritz and i10 taxi's as well in Mumbai these days. I guess the 4-cyl engine rule for Taxis in Mumbai is no more active, else one wouldnt see new Ritz taxis's on the streets.

Errr... Ritz has a 4 cylinder engine.

http://www.marutisuzuki.com/ritz.aspx

[fx45]

oops yes its not a 1.0 but a 1.2. Sorry about that

[rajeev k]

In Chennai, lot of Dzire Tour Black/Yellow taxis can be seen.
Take a look.

[anjan_c2007]

The Maruti Eeco is gaining popularity as a taxi especially in Mumbai and Delhi. Spotted one here in New Delhi doing its duty with lots of ornamentation ! A good and welcome change is the fact that the name of the taxi owner, his/her mobile no. and other details are painted in black on a yellow background in the left rear side of every taxi in Delhi.

The Eeco was earlier called Versa and one second hand car dealer advertised it a "Maruti Varsha" for sale...in a newspaper classified. Who can also forget the Versa advertisement with the Bachchan family (six footers included) travelling cosily in one such example? I am nearly sure that neither the Big B nor his family members may have ever boarded any Versa/ Eeco after the advertisement shoot was over !







Battered Maruti vans, some of them in ramshackle and near "write off" conditions are used to ferry little school children in Delhi. All these are fitted with CNG cylinders.

[carfreak7]

Originally Posted by Rohitj92

Spotted this in front of RD National college, Bandra


Attachment 1334006

Sat in the same Ritz taxi as shown above. It is a well maintained and a new taxi. The owner said he bought it for 5 lakhs and it has done 69xx kms as of today. He said no one will buy this car as a taxi as it is expensive compared to other taxis like Santro, Alto. It also had A/C and was surprised to see its pickup even with CNG. I have taken his mobile number and will surely use his service again.

[fx45]

With the Santro now gone out of production, the new i10 taxis are also costing about Rs 5 lakh on road in Mumbai, which is same as the Ritz sadly.

Its high time government asks Indian carmakers to come up with a taxi-specific product in their portfolio with proper safety features.

[anjan_c2007]

Originally Posted by fx45

With the Santro now gone out of production, the new i10 taxis are also costing about Rs 5 lakh on road in Mumbai, which is same as the Ritz sadly.

Its high time government asks Indian carmakers to come up with a taxi-specific product in their portfolio with proper safety features.

Well said. The taxes must be adding up to reach such an astronomical figure. The Central Excise duty on taxis were drastically reduced in the early 1980's vis a vis privately owned cars to enable self-employment.But this tax proviso was misused by many, who registered cars as taxis and used them for their domestic and private use. these cars had to be compulsorily registered as taxis for a minimum of five years. So thereafter the owners switched over to private registrations.

Actually, the State and Central Excise duties need to be reduced for taxis to minimal levels solely to generate self-employment and to meet the needs of the increasing number of commuters. Also such loopholes to check misuse of the lower duties need to be enforced.

[anjan_c2007]

The people's carriers of the North East have been featured here. I was there till yesterday and found red Tata Sumos doing their duties in and around Guwahati (The gateway to the North East). Beyond Guwahati towards Shillong and in Shillong city, the Maruti 800 continues to be the most loved car for private owners and also for the taxi trade. Its demise must have hurt the Maruti 800 lovers here.The car is small, nimble and also tough for the hilly terrain duties on narrow roads. For inter city movements Tata Sumos and the Mahindra range of people's carriers are popular.
The Maruti 800 role is being taken over by the new 800, some Tata Nanos and a few Altos. The new 800 is preferred to the Altos or the Omnis.

[Senna4Ever]

Originally Posted by anjan_c2007

The people's carriers of the North East have been featured here....
Beyond Guwahati towards Shillong and in Shillong city, the Maruti 800 continues to be the most loved car for private owners and also for the taxi trade. Its demise must have hurt the Maruti 800 lovers here.The car is small, nimble and also tough for the hilly terrain duties on narrow roads.

These pictures reminded of the taxi scene in Nepal. Maruti 800 and Omnis are adored in Nepal for the same reasons, nimbleness and agility. Not sure this is correct thread but Nepal does have virtually the same automotive scene. Sights like below are common in Kathmandu.



(White on Black plates = Taxi)

[anjan_c2007]

Kolkata taxi of Mr Dhananjoy Chakraborty with a roof-top garden featured in The Telegraph, Kolkata, and brought to our notice by Mr Souryadeep Mukherjee of Kolkata.The driver Mr Dhananjoy calls it "Sabuj Rath" meaning "green chariot".





Link to The Telegraph article:

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1150517/jsp/calcutta/story_20517.jsp#.VVtsllKPAxh

A link to his FB page:

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php...044564&fref=ts

[wishnipon]

This morning a friend forwarded me a sentimental article about Kolkata, which was a poetic exaggeration. The article however made no mention of taxis and I pondered. Talking of Kolkata, the taxi drivers deserve a mention. Just like the Howrah bridge, the yellow cabs have been synonymous with the city!

I want to comment on the driving skills of the cab drivers, they are really skilled drivers. When is the last time you have read in the newspaper about a taxi getting into a road accident? (Think of buses, autos!). The ambassador is no small car, yet they manoeuvre it deftly in the serpentine lanes of the city and its suburbs. Earlier the profession was dominated by Sardarjis, now it is Biharis mostly. All of them drive like gentlemen on the road. A cab will ply rather slowly if it is looking for a passenger. Honk once and they will let you overtake. Once it gets a passenger, they will speed away. They won't overtake you unless you are driving slow. In a congested city like kolkata, driving is all about good dynamics between fellow drivers and the cab drivers display this spirit. On the road, they are humble, understanding and accommodating - all essential traits of a good driver.

The autos are a different story. These unsafe vehicles create havoc by driving recklessly, putting everyone at risk. Unlike designated auto stands, there are no defined spots for cabs to wait. Police often harass them for stopping by - the practice started since Mamata came to power and has stopped recently eyeing next year elections.

If the autos are a menace, the unruly biker is no less of a villain - they are often overtaking others from the left and right without the slightest of warning! Of late, I see bikes violating even the red light at crossings. The other day, while I was waiting at a signal, a taxi was coming from the opposite side and was about to cross me, when a bike tried to sneak in front of the taxi by squeezing between it and my car. The taxi gave him no space and drove ahead. This infuriated the biker and his friend, they started hurling abuses at the driver. The taxi driver wasn't shy of a confrontation and challenged them - gaali kisko diya? The biker duo got down, tried to drag him out and a fistfight broke out between the sides. I honked twice hoping they would disengage. Soon others came and separated them. I was impressed by the resilience of the driver, and not to mention, disgusted by the audacity of the bikers who were wearing branded clothes and shoes.

The cab drivers are infamous for their refusal, but then that is part of a bigger socio-economic issue affecting Bengal in general, which is beyond the current talking point. I have often picked up a chat with the driver while taking a ride in a taxi. I knew a driver from Exide area who would bring me home at 3 am in the night from the hospital if I called. I had to pay him 50 rupees extra on the meter. One night my phone was out of charge. I walked till Exide and enquired for this man. The other drivers present recognized his name and rang him. They asked me to wait for 10 minutes and let me sit inside one of their taxis as it was a winter night - they didn't know I was a doctor.

They are hard-working souls braving many odds throughout the day - maintenance costs, eating outside food daily, an insanely hot ambassador engine that makes the front seat unbearable in summer, police excesses, lack of enough public toilets. I can recall a poor soul who had almost refused me saying he had to attend the nature's call, but then hesitantly asked me to get aboard. On the way the poor chap stopped at two Sulabh toilets and found all the latrines occupied. By the third Sulabh we came across on the way, he was in a pretty bad state. Luckily he could find a spot in the third one.

Quite often, they are living an impoverished life. Once in the hospital, I was shocked by the eye sight of a driver and asked him how he could drive at all. He replied - sir raat er belay ektu osubidha hoy (Sir, a bit trouble at night)! I was like "ektu?!" (a bit?) and advised him to get his cataract operated at the earliest.

One morning, I took a cab to the hospital and the frail elderly driver started chatting. On hearing I am a doctor he narrated how his granddaughter recently got discharged after suffering from a deadly attack of dengue. Buying the medicines and fruits have cost him several hundred rupees. His license had been confiscated by the police and he couldn't drive for days - he needed 1000 to get his license back from the police station. That day he took a risk and took the car out without his license, hoping he would earn just enough by the end of the day to pay for the license. He asked for some money. On principle, I never give alms to people. This time, I went out of my way, and paid him his fare and then 200 rupees extra.

[Nissan1180]

Thank you for sharing this narration
Your observations about the chaos orchestrated by the Autos and 2 wheelers are spot on. However, though some of the Taxis exhibit more gentlemanly behavior, that is not the norm. I have been rear ended twice at a signal and once while taking a turn ( the driver was behind me on the right lane and decided to switch lanes from a standstill without bothering to maintain a safe distance. He scratched the rear bumper and did not even look back). The Ambassadors are very poorly maintained and have vague to non-existent steering feedback, so most drivers just drive guided by their intuitive understanding of where the car would point. The worst part is that the Ambassador drivers do not care about bruising your vehicle because they have steel bumpers which don't suffer much damage in low speed collisions.
Things have improved a lot in the last 3-4 years after the Dzire and Indigo became a popular replacement for the Amby.

Even half a decade ago, most of these Taxis were owned by a few people and the drivers rented them on a monthly basis. The maintenance of the vehicle was the owner's responsibility (which, very expectedly, was ignored because it did not contribute to any revenue). In the last 2 years there has been a significant change in the business model. Many drivers got access to loans from banks and tied up with the taxi hailing apps to buy their own vehicles. I spoke to quite a few of them and they relished their new found independence. They get to drive better vehicles which makes their day less stressful (and their driving less dangerous).

I was reading Raghuram Rajan's book (Saving Capitalism from Capitalists) a while ago. He repeatedly stress upon the importance of advancing credit to those who are ready to work to pay it back. What we're witnessing now in Kolkata is a very good example of this principle in action. A typical driver now makes around 25k if he drives a non A/C Indigo-eCS (after paying off the monthly installments). He maintains his car well because it is his bread-earner and he has the privilege of entertaining his family on long drives on weekends too! So much good can happen once the middleman is removed from the supply chain.