The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Black and yellow taxis rev up again

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Monday, Dec 28, 2009
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Black and yellow taxis rev up again

Meera Srinivasan

— Photo: A. Muralitharan

OLD BUT IN VOGUE: Though not too common on city roads, these taxis bring old memories of the city, say commuters.

CHENNAI: Remember those black and yellow taxis that were usually hired form the Central Railway Station or the Airport a few years ago? In fact, some residents of the city may even fondly recall the days of the ‘taxi stands’ in ‘Madras’.

With autorickshaws and later, private cab and call taxi services gaining popularity as options in private transport, these taxis began dwindling in number and were confined to a few railway stations, the airport and some hotels.

Once run on metres, this clan of four-wheelers seems to be picking up again, with their pre-paid services putting them almost on a par with their counterparts, observes joint president of the Chennai Central Taxi Drivers’ Welfare Association L. Srinivasan. “We charge a minimum of Rs.80 and over that, the rate is fixed according to the distance,” he says.

A passenger would have to pay Rs.150 to go to Anna Nagar (near the roundabout) or T. Nagar from the Central Station. “We have 72 cars here and business has been fairly good after the pre-paid system was introduced,” he added. According to Southern Railway officials, the association pays Rs.7,500 a year to use the premises.

The scene at the airport, however, could be better, according to a member of the association of taxi drivers there. “We operate about 300 taxis currently, but there are some issues regarding the number, since some legal proceedings are on,” he said, refraining from commenting further on the matter.

However, “many think we operate very old vehicles, but even recently we have added a brand new vehicle to our fleet. While there are authorised pre-paid call taxis inside the premises, some car rental services are being run by private operators outside the premises. So we have competition,” he said.

As for commuters, some seem to prefer hiring these taxis. “This time of the year, it is very pleasant and I don’t mind travelling in a vehicle without AC. Moreover, these taxis have a sense of nostalgia about them,” says R. Mahesh, a commuter who was enquiring about taxi rates at the Central Station.

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