[Rajeevraj]

I was at a hill station recently where we hired a cab. It was a Chevrolet Tavera. Pretty old one without AC or Power-Steering, but well maintained. The driver had taken some effort to jazz up the interiors with some new upholstery, led lights and stuff. On top of it all he had a touch screen ICE System. Once we started off, he told us that it would take 30-45 min for the next tourist stop and presented us with an AUX and USB input setup to the ICE and told us that we could connect our phones/USB and play music that we liked.

Was reminded of this thread at that point. It felt nice to be presented with that choice. The ICE is an example, In such tourist circuits, well equipped vehicles would definitely attract repeat customers. So it makes sense for the cab owners to buy higher end variants where such features come as part of the package.

[shobhitk]

Originally Posted by audioholic

Affordability? ....Even I have noticed a lot of Ritz ZDi and Ertiga Zdi as taxis. Not many Ciaz since the ones I see are the VDi+.

Either way its good on the safety front too, its better to go for the car with more safety features instead of a bare bones car with lots of lights and stickering.

sometimes good cars, serving as taxi, are in demand for the reason that people on business trips or out to attend multiple meetings in a single day, need comfort. people, who come to a city by morning flight and are keen to return by evening or night flight, the same day, normally like to hire decent cabs.

[nikhilarni]

Originally Posted by sprocket

Recently I have been noticing a lot of cabs (yellow board cars) which are top end variants. For example I see a lot of Ciaz ZDI+ cabs on Bangalore roads. Yesterday I also saw a Mobilio RS with a yellow board.

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Mobilio RS was running discounts upto 1.5 lakhs in Bangalore.

Agree with this thread. I also observed a host of cabs using the top end variants.

My guess is that , most of them are probably cars lying in the dealership which are of the previous year. Any car buyer buying for personal use will want a car manufactured in the present year, where as a cab driver will not bother too much about it assuming that they are getting a good discount from the dealerships.

Another trend is, most of the drivers have friends / relatives in the same business and tend to negotiate group discounts.

I once traveled from Mumbai Int'l airport to Pune in a fully loaded Tata Aria. The driver had bought 5 Tata Aria's and got a massive discount from the dealer.

[RaghuVis]

Started noticing yellow boards after seeing this thread. Saw couple of Xcent (One Top End), saw a Swift Zdi (Not Dzire!), couple of Micra, Ritz. most of these were Radio cabs. Saw some Corolla and Sunny also but most of them were of Hotels. The most surprising one was a red Ford Fiesta Classic! It was neither a Hotel cab nor a Radio cab. Was wondering who would have that

[moshel]

Since we are on the topic of taxi cabs, I would like to take this opportunity to put a question to the gurus here.

I am planning to buy a new car and join it with Uber and also take occasional trips whenever the opportunity arises.

Now for this I went to a Maruti dealership to check out Dzire. In Ahmedabad, Dzire is the preferred sedan of taxi using public. Anyway, the Maruti dealer told me that if I wanted taxi passing, the only Dzire they will sell me is the Swift DZire Tour LDI and not the regular DZire which is exclusive for private passing only.

He told me that only RTO approved cars can be registered as taxi and that the regular DZire is not a part of that. I have seen regular Dzire's run as taxis, to which he responded that people buy on private passing and after 6 months convert it to taxi at their own risk by bribing RTO officials and this is illegal.

Can someone please throw some light on this? Does RTO provide a list of cars that can be used as taxis?

I prefer Dzire to run as a taxi cab and would like to go for VDI as it looks more upmarket than LDI.

Thanks!

[Rahul Rao]

Originally Posted by nikhilarni

My guess is that , most of them are probably cars lying in the dealership which are of the previous year. Any car buyer buying for personal use will want a car manufactured in the present year, where as a cab driver will not bother too much about it assuming that they are getting a good discount from the dealerships.

This rarely happens, Taxi owners can claim an Exise refund as Taxi's come under a lower exise catagory. This has to be done within 90 days of registration or 180 days from date of manufacture. In case of Tata Aria the bulk purchase discount was about 4.5 lakhs, being more than the refund, and so old stock Arias came in as Taxis. in 2006 there were Innova E model which came were discounted too, as a Karnataka Police tender was cancelled, and private buyers were not interested in cars without power steerings.

Originally Posted by moshel

In Ahmedabad, Dzire is the preferred sedan of taxi using public. Anyway, the Maruti dealer told me that if I wanted taxi passing, the only Dzire they will sell me is the Swift DZire Tour LDI and not the regular DZire which is exclusive for private passing only.

He told me that only RTO approved cars can be registered as taxi and that the regular DZire is not a part of that.
Can someone please throw some light on this? Does RTO provide a list of cars that can be used as taxis?

I prefer Dzire to run as a taxi cab and would like to go for VDI as it looks more upmarket than LDI.

This is correct, you will have to register the tour in yellow plate, get the OE Power steering kit and get the bumpers painted in body colour, most taxi operators in Pune do that.

Rahul

[nishantbhatia84]

Originally Posted by moshel

the Maruti dealer told me that if I wanted taxi passing, the only Dzire they will sell me is the Swift DZire Tour LDI and not the regular DZire which is exclusive for private passing only.

He told me that only RTO approved cars can be registered as taxi and that the regular DZire is not a part of that.

Originally Posted by Rahul Rao

This is correctRahul

This is not true and just a ploy by manufacturers to push sales of non-selling variants into the taxi segment.
The RTO has NO rules regarding which cars can be registered as taxis and which cannot - Mumbai has almost all brands of cars on T-permit - including almost all of the high-end cars as well.
I drive with Uber in Mumbai and got the Ford Ecosport AT on T-permit, and when I was enquiring about the pricing, 3 out of 4 Ford dealers in Mumbai told me that they do not sell the Ecosport on T-permit. In-fact, my Ecosport was the first T-permit one that my dealer had ever sold!
There's a really simple work-around in case a dealer refuses to sell the model you want on t-permit - purchase the vehicle without registration i.e. on CRTM stating that you want to get the vehicle registered yourself. The dealer, if he really wants to make the sale, shall agree to sell you the vehicle on CRTM provided you sign the Form-19 (I think) which indemnifies the dealer of any and all responsibility once you've taken delivery. You can then get the vehicle registered yourself through any RTO agent - who'll be happy to do it for you.

[shobhitk]

Originally Posted by moshel

I have seen regular Dzire's run as taxis, to which he responded that people buy on private passing and after 6 months convert it to taxi at their own risk by bribing RTO officials and this is illegal.

Can someone please throw some light on this? Does RTO provide a list of cars that can be used as taxis?

I prefer Dzire to run as a taxi cab and would like to go for VDI as it looks more upmarket than LDI.

Thanks!

If there is any ambiguity, send your query by registered post to RTO with a 10 rupee note. keep a copy of the same with you. RTO is bound to give you a reply within 30 days under Right to Information Act (RTI).

It really works.

[blue_pulsar]

I travel to office in cabs everyday and often strike conversation with drivers. Most of these drivers have tried their hands on OLA etc. This is my analysis:

1. Most cab drivers are first time buyers. They are usually in early or mid 20's.

2. By running OLA cab drivers make 60-70 K per month at least. Even by running company cabs, these drivers make 40-50 K. Compare this to a fresher software engineer earning 3.5LPA (30 K per month)

3. Most of them think of car in terms of EMI as opposed to the total amount.

4. Since most of them have just started earning and are young (read without responsibilities), they like to 'splurge' / enjoy.

5. Some of them do not want to be drivers forever. They are unclear about a career path.

6. By buying a good car (non-Indica), they can later convert it to a white board and not get embarrassed when they park in front of their home (One driver told me this! ).


It is time we start thinking about cab drivers differently. They earn well unlike earlier times. Some of these folks have expensive soda (going by forum rules, if you know what I mean). They own a mid-range smartphone. And some of them are graduates too.

[Ketan T]

I hired a cab from Mumbai T2 Terminal to Pune yesterday. The car was a 3 year old Manza (the driver told me so). He was 40+ and told me that he has booked a top end Amaze and was exchanging his Manza for Amaze. I asked him the reason for booking a top end model. He told me that his customers preferred a cab with all safety features. Thats why he opted for the top end version.

Also, he was telling me that most of the yound cab drivers are ruining the business and giving a bad name to all the experienced cab drivers.

[scopriobharath]

I think this thread should be re-phrased as Top end variant as Taxi for Internet based providers. By above posts, an OLA / Uber driver makes 50-60K per month so it justifies his buy for a top end. He might get business in the form of out-station trips too.

But for the usual IT/BPO pickup and drops, the majority is still the basic model of Indicas / Sumos / Taveras / dzire tours etc. I don't think the cabbies servicing this sector ever buy a top-end model. I have been using office cabs for 10+ years and it always has been basic models only.

[audioholic]

Yesterday I got a superbly kept Ciaz ZDI when I booked an uber. While speaking to the driver, I asked him how come the top end version. He told me that he did not want to get any accessory fitted outside since he ran into problems with them in his previous car, which was an Indigo. Moreover, most of the cabbies are of the same opinion and hence they end up buying a variant which has the essentials like audio system, central locking, power windows fitted from factory. And add to it the SHVS, which has some requisites for functioning like the door should be closed, seat belt on etc if an accessory shop guy messes this in lieu of installing some flashing light and stuff, then even company warranty is not applicable.

I had to agree to whatever he told. In most of the old cabs, I see the check engine light flashing, and so many wires dangling outside and as well as the interior. These cars are not reliable and the repair costs will increase as the age goes. Nothing is better than a well kept car as your cab which is factory maintained. And these cars are driven beautifully, in contrast to how the company cabs are driven.

[vishy76]

When we booked a taxi on my trip to Goa 3 years back,I was pleasantly surprised to find that the Innova we received was the top end variant with all the goodies such as a touchscreen infotainment system,silver finish on centre console,climate control and fog lamps too.

I have also noticed many Jetta highlines being used as taxis i.e with a yellow number plate in Mumbai.Recently saw a Ciaz ZDI Plus too with the smartplay infotainment.
The top end variants of these cars had waiting periods(the jetta had waiting for upto 6 months)and the Ciaz is in popular demand.I guess it is some of the year end stock clearance where dealers get rid of old models acquiring real estate in their yards
IMO it is a benefit for both the customer and the cab operator.The cab operator doesn't have to get any aftermarket fitments and the customer gets the luxury of these features too

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Noticed this Ciaz SHVS RS variant used as a taxi cab yesterday. Driver with a taste for black interiors?

[AkMar]

Yesterday I saw an S-cross 1.6 registered as a taxi. Now beat that! Looks like some really enthusiastic driver - or maybe it was sold by dealer at good discount. But still, I least expected an S-Cross, of all cars, as a taxi! I checked and double checked the registration to make sure it is indeed a taxi!