Right from the day cab aggregators started eating into the market share of black-and-yellow taxis there has been a widespread unrest in the city. In years to come, earnings of black-and-yellow taxi drivers will only reduce due to substandard service and fare refusals. The present fleet of taxis available on the road are outdated and out modelled compared to the user friendly taxis available on line and that too at cheaper rates with air-conditioned facility. There is a tough competition and for vying on equal terms the Black and Yellow model of Taxis should be able to upgrade their network and find an easy method to book from home online.
Unless the non air-conditioned taxis do not buckle up, they will not be able to sustain the fierce competition offered by fleet taxi and app-based cab services. Such a drastic change and the development ought to have been thought about a decade back by the Mumbai Taxi Association and to find an amicable solution to the pressing problem to achieve an equal status like private Taxi Services. Even now it is not too late to achieve a win-win situation if suitable steps are taken on a war footing basis to make sure about the requirements of the commuters in the best way possible and cater to their needs in a planned way.
Taxis are part and parcel of the transport system in the commercial capital and even though local trains are the life line of the majority of the people, but upper middle class people still prefer comfort of taxis and it is a good news. Around a decade ago, union leaders of recognized taxi unions were taken abroad to understand the know-how of call centre-based taxi services. But once they returned, no measures or interest were taken by the taxi unions. In a competitive world everyone is vying for excellence as there is high scope for making “hay while the sun shines”.
For commuters finding a cab, especially in peak traffic hour, is very difficult. From rigged meters to unwillingness to go ‘short distances’ or any distance for that matter, black-and-yellow taxis have literally driven commuters into the arms of cab aggregrators like Ola or Uber.
Mumbai isn’t any different when it comes to the utter arrogance of cab drivers. And they should realise that making their services more palatable are their only chance at besting cab aggregrators.
The state transport department is planning to regulate app-based taxi services like Ola, Uber and Taxi For Sure. The new directive will pave way for having a level playing field of all kinds of taxi services in Maharashtra. The taxi permits issued by the state have guidelines on engine capacity, electronic fare meters, and fare chart among other things, and are regulated by the transport authorities, which isn’t the case for app-based cab services.
C.K Subramaniam
