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.