Meru cabs to extend services till suburbs
June 5, 2007 5:51 PM
Residents of suburban Mumbai can get ready for a ride in the lap of
luxury. Swanky Meru cabs-fitted with air-conditioners, tamper-proof
digital meters, and electronic printers and GPS-based tracking
system--will soon ply on suburban roads.
V-Link, the fleet management company which launched these luxury cabs
under Mumbai Fleet Taxi Scheme, is set to extend its services till the
suburbs.
Confirming this move, V-Link Group Vice-President Mr. Ashutosh Vaidya
said,"We will decide on the limits of our pick-up services in the
coming week. We already have a facility to drop our customers anywhere
within Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) limits, but now the pick-up
area will also be extended."
According to a senior RTO (Regional Transport Office) official, fleet
taxis in Mumbai have been permitted to ply within MMR limits since the
launch of the fleet taxi scheme. Vaidya also informed that as the
number of Olive-Green Meru cabs had increased since its launch in
March, its services would be extended accordingly.
"Initially, we had started with pick-ups from Bandra onwards as we
had fewer cabs. It would have reflected badly on our part if we claimed
to have pick-up facilities in the suburbs when we didn't even have
adequate numbers of vehicles," explained Vaidya.
Meru cabs started operating on April 1 and V-Link had aimed to have
150 cabs plying across the city by April end. Till now, the company has
been able to register 100 olive green Merus and another set of cabs
will be registered in the coming week.
Merucabs -which target corporate and foreign travelers--are fitted
with GPS--based tracking system to pinpoint the cab's location and
monitor the dispatch facilities. This luxury cab service also provides
other amenities like city maps, wet wipes, bottled water and a limited
collection of CDs for music lovers.
These CNG--run cabs ply at a flag down charge of Rs 15 and Rs 13 per
additional kilometer. V-Link had launched its fleet with Maruti Esteems
and is planning to add another premium car brands as the fleet
expands.