As if the city didn’t have enough traffic on its roads, a fleet of private cabs (see picture) was added to the existing 63,000-odd taxis on Wednesday. Of course, while this means a larger choice for Mumbaikars on the move, it also means more congestion and eventually a congestion tax.
Joint transport commissioner Satish Sahastrabudhe hinted as much on Wednesday, while inaugurating the first fleet of 100 ‘easycabs’ launched by Carzonrent (India).
He said though private cabs will be welcomed by Mumbaikars looking for comfortable travel within the city, the only way to curb the growing traffic chaos was to introduce measures like congestion tax.
“However, the transport department cannot introduce such measures on its own. The strings have to be tightened at the state government level. It will be the prerogative of the state cabinet to enforce such stringent norms,” Sahastrabudhe said.
As of December 2009, Mumbai had a total 17.15 lakh vehicles on its roads. This includes more than 63,000 cabs which ply the city’s roads every day. With companies such as Meru (approximately 1,700 cabs), Mega (700 cabs), Gold (150), Star (150), Forshe (100) and Priyadarshini (100) occupying a sizeable space among the premium cab market, easycabs has made an entry with another 100 cabs.
Managing director Rajiv Vij said the company intends to add 1,000 cabs in the coming 12 months. “The passengers in the city will respond positively to our new service,” he said.
While Sahastrabudhe made it clear that the government does not intend to introduce any incentives to new operators in the private taxi industry, he said with an industry potential of huge growth, more players can be expected in the market. “Since they are opting to give better facilities to passengers, the government will obviously allow them to provide their services.”
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