West Bengal's yellow taxis go the app way

The ubiquitous yellow taxis in Kolkata are in for a technological makeover. Falling in line with new age cabs, the taxi operators in Kolkata have come up with a proposal to enable the cabs with apps similar to Ola and Uber. The app will help people locate and book taxis from their smartphones. The West Bengal government, after rounds of consultations with the Bengal Taxi Association (BTA), has come up with a notification on the same. According to the plan, the taxis will be GPS- (global positioning system ) enabled and closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras will also be installed.

A new tamper-proof meter and a printer for the bill will be there as well. All these will be linked to the app, which will be synchronised with the police headquarters for monitoring. Notably, the taxi operators in Kolkata have been facing stiff competition from the app-based transport providers. According to Bimal Guha, general secretary, the Bengal Taxi Association (BTA), the traditional yellow taxis have been losing business to cab aggregators because of the app platform. Hence an upgrade, which will also provide additional safety to the passengers.

The app is being developed by Rego in association with BTA, which has been planned to be rolled out before the festive season.

Initially, 500 yellow and white & blue taxis will join the fleet, which will be increased later to cover the entire 30,000 strong taxis plying in and around the state's metropolis. "The role of the government will be limited to licensing the technologies that will be used and issue clearance certificates", state Transport Minister Suvendu Adhikari told Business Standard.

According to the notification, the app will display a clear photo along with the details of the driver, including his licence number and will have a panic button, which can be triggered in case of emergency. "This panic button will alert the traffic headquarters at Lalbazar directly so that the police can take action quickly", said Guha.

The move has already cleared the first hurdle, receiving the crucial no-objection certificate from the law enforcement authorities to start operations. The new meter, CCTV, GPS device and the printer have been sent to the state transport department for scrutiny and certification. However, the technological advancement of these taxis - a remnant of the old metropolis - may translate into higher fares for the passengers. Although the model chalked out will not have surge fare, a higher fare for these taxis is likely.






Guha has placed a proposal before the transport authorities for a 15 per cent higher fare than the government notified one for bookings made through this app.Under the present notified fare chart, passengers have to pay Rs 25 for the first two km of ride and then Rs 12.50 for every km covered.Currently, yellow taxis in Delhi-National Capital Region can be booked through the app.