| Most of us in Delhi have heard about "radio cabs" "" an always-connected network of air -conditioned cabs "" but with just a limited number plying on the roads, sighting them is not so easy. |
| This is set to change soon, as new players enter the market and existing ones expand their fleet. These cabs are also set to conquer new geographies across the country as the demand for these "safer" cabs perks up. |
| Delhi has three radio cab players currently""Mega Cabs, Dial-a-cab and Metro Cabs "" all running on CNG. A fourth player Easycabs is set to enter the market soon. |
| The largest player "" Megacabs "" is increasing its fleet by more than four times to 280 by the end of September, at an investment of Rs 11 crore. This is good news for the consumer, whose average waiting time for the call-cab will come down to 15 minutes from about half an hour now, informs Kunal Lalani, MD, Mega Cabs. |
| All new cars will have two-way connectivity with the main control room and will also be constantly tracked via satellite (using GPS and GPRS). Dial-a-cab, which is doubling its fleet to 50 cars by the year-end, is also opting for similar technology. |
| Easycabs is planning to launch its service in Delhi with an initial fleet of 500 mid-sized cars (all on CNG) in October. The company is looking at a six-fold increase in fleet, to about 3,000, in three years. It is also planning to start service in Mumbai soon, where taxi use is much more common than in Delhi. |
| "Mumbai will be a large launch. Any new player will have to start with a very large fleet in the city," says Rajiv K Vij, MD. Mumbai has about 53,000 yellow black taxis but many are over 15 years old and are badly maintained. |
| The Bombay Transport Department has set the minimum fleet for radio cabs at 500 cars though Vij is of the opinion that they will need to start with at least 3-4 times that number to reach a passenger within 10-15 minutes of request. |
| Mega Cabs has planned a Mumbai launch in October, with 200 cars. The plan is to provide extensive coverage in pockets of the large city, until the fleet size increases to 1,000 cars, a target set for October 2007. |
| There is a latent demand for such services in cities like Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad too. They are currently serviced by cabs "" mostly non-air-conditioned Maruti Omni's "" that use walkie-talkies to communicate with their bases. |
| Mega Cabs has ventured into Chandigarh with a 50-car fleet. Easycabs recently started its service in Chandigarh with 50 cars, and has sought approval to start services in Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune and Jaipur. "Services in these cities," says Vij, "should start sometime in early 2007." |
| Mega Cabs on the other hand has got approval to start service in Kolkata. "We are starting with 100 cars for an airport service in the first phase by the first week of September," says Lalani. |
| By the end of 2007, Mega Cabs should also be seen in Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad. Lalani is targetting at least 2,500 vehicles across India by December 2007. |
| Hyderabad might also see at least 25 Dial-a-cabs by the end of this year, revealed Mukesh K Sharma, MD, Dial-a-cab. At least in cab services, Indian cities are getting close to the likes of New York and Singapore who boast of their very own Yellow Cabs and Comfort Cabs. |
| STACKING UP |
| Mega Cabs |
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| Dial-a-cab |
| Easycabs |
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