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Vyas Mohan

Mumbai , May 5

IT could soon be curtains for the yellow-and-black Premier Padmini cabs that have ruled the Mumbai city roads since 70s, to well into the 90s. Instead, one could well see the Singapore-styled wireless cab network where the operative words could be... "Make a call, choose your cab, and it is at your door."

As per the Fulora Foundation plans to overhaul the city cab transport system organised by the Western India Automobile Association here, the idea is to create a GPRS-run fleet management system that gives real-time vehicle status and has city-wide low-cost service stations and an emergency response system.

Mr Sanjay Ubale, Secretary of Special Projects, Government of Maharashtra, said: "Indian taxi drivers are good people trapped in a bad system." The new system will enable communication among cab drivers, allow them to record routes as well as go in for data retrieval for management analysis.

The blueprint allows for cab services to be differentiated into mini cabs, medium-sized cabs and luxury cabs, with different rates. This transportation model is expected to increase the demand for call taxis and therefore, the cabbies' income.

While the number of private cars in Mumbai has gone up from 61,000 in 1961 to 50 lakh in 2001, cab figures have remained static.

"Despite crowded trains and buses, cabbies have failed to tap the market. This is due to their inability to identify niche markets.

"Singapore had the same cab transport system that India now has. They changed and the drivers' income has seen a 20-fold jump," said Mr Ubale.

Clearly, it looks like the days of the yellow-and-black cabs criss-crossing the city roads may be numbered.

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