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.