Swanky New Taxis For Corporates Soon
March 30, 2007 6:43 PM
V-Link a fleet management company is launching a metered radio taxi
service (MERU) in Mumbai from Friday. This project is a part of the
Government of Maharashtra's "Fleet Taxi Scheme 2006".
The initial platform to deliver the service will be through the Maruti Esteem vehicle.
The company plans to initially launch 150 taxis by the first week
of April and shall increase it to 1,000 by the end of the year.
This service will be available 'on demand' through advance booking
system (about 4 hours in advance) which allows a customer to book for a
cab at their appointed location. Besides this, they will also be
available at the demand points where the commuters can hail it bye
roadside," said Anjan Deb, Chief Operating Officer, V-Link group. "Our
service will be focusing on the higher end of the system comprising
corporate, business people and foreign travelers and will operate in
South Mumbai," added the COO.
The fare structure of the Meru service is in line with the service
prescribed by the Department of Transport, Government of Maharashtra.
"The flat term fare would be Rs. 15 and will be subsequently increased
by Rs.13 after every kilometer," revealed Neeraj Gupta, Managing
Director of V-link group.
As far as the permits are concerned, it is known that there are
about 60,000 permits available in the market, so we will be taking them
on lease from the existing permit holders." Informed Anjan Deb, the
COO.
These Meru Cabs will be seen on the Mumbai streets from Sunday.
They will be tracked 24*7 in a Customer Care Center ensuring that
every moment of the cabs are monitored. Initially, some basic amenities
like maps of the city, wet wipes, bottled water and a limited
selection of music would be offered to passengers.
Moreover, each cab is equipped with a "panic button" that relays information to the customer care in case of any emergency.