[sustran] Taxi operation

[Shamsul A M A Hoque]

Dear Kisan

I did not understand why did you mention this-

"It is clear that concentration of ownership in fewer hands that is creating
corporate giants would not help commuters. Any attempt in that direction
would create
social and ethical turmoil."

My second concern is: why you did not mentioned about the parking charges
for taxi? Instead you have recommend to raise their fare level to keep their
vehicle in good order. If taxi-drivers are allowed to pay the parking charge
for a particular taxi-waiting stand then they would be forced to stay there
unless there is a call from passenger. Without any passenger no taxi would
be allowed to roam around on the road, this would creat some frustration
among the passengers who does not have any easy access to a phone. But
passengers would get used to the situation soon and they would know how far
they have to walk to get a taxi stand.

At present, isn't there any taxi operators'/owners' association present
there in Mumbai? I believe there are some in Mumbai, as in the case for
Dhaka. There would a mechanism which would be acceptable to all the present
operators/owners. If the drivers see they would be benefited by making fewer
bigger size companies, than what there are now "One owner one taxi", then
there would not be any big issue.

Thank you.

SAM Aminul Hoque







Message: 1
Date: Sat, 5 Jun 2004 11:51:48 +0530
From: "Kisan Mehta" <kisansbc at vsnl.com>
Subject: [sustran] Re: Taxi operations in Mumbai
To: "NewMobilityCafe" <NewMobilityCafe at yahoogroups.com>,	"Asia and the
	Pacific sustainable transport"	<sustran-discuss at list.jca.apc.org>
Cc: sustran discuss <sustran-discuss at jca.ax.apc.org>

Dear Colleagues and Bina,

It is good to learn that somebody and especially Bina, a Mumbai resident is
looking into the possibility of improving/upgrading the quality of taxi
service in
Mumbai.
..........
............
...........
In this situation the following may be implemented.

# Augmenting and imrpoving public transport and creating dependable
taxi/riksha change over possibility for weaning  away commuters from private
vehicles
# Creating widespread calling taxi/autoriksha by telephone facility
#Designating specific plots  of lands for taxi/riksha parking till ordered
on telephone
# Insisting on taxies and rikshas to install `for hire' illuminated lights
on top
# Raising fare structure  to allow taxi/riksha owners to keep their vehicles
in good shape.
# Removing all hurdles on movement of taxies/rikshas throughtout the
commuting areas of Mumbai and more particularly Mumbai Metropolitan Region
#Placing restrictions on car use and ownership to reduce congestion and
pollution.

It is clear that concentration of ownership in fewer hands that is creating
corporate giants would not help commuters. Any attempt in that direction
would create
social and ethical turmoil.


However much we may dislike, existence and widespread  of rikshas and two
wheeler motor cycles cannot be wished away in the poor countries. Best
wishes.

Kisan Mehta

----- Original Message -----
From: "Brendan Finn" <etts at indigo.ie>
To: "Bina C. Balakrishnan" <binac at rediffmail.com>; "Asia and the Pacific
sustainable transport" <sustran-discuss at list.jca.apc.org>
Sent: Friday, June 04, 2004 10:29 PM
Subject: [sustran] Re: Taxi operations in Mumbai


> Dear Bina,
>
> I guess Singapore's main cab companies (Comfort, CityCab, TIBS) might
offer > a working model. While the cost base is likely to be different due
to the
> wage rates and perhaps also insurance and licence factors, it's still
worth > looking at. They're certainly large enough to gain economies of
scale and
> good purchasing power.
>
> An alternative model could be a leasing-with-maintenance arrangement by
the > vehicle suppliers. This certainly can work in the bus sector.
>
> Whatever you opt for, you are looking to replace old vehicles with new in
a
> low-wage, low-tariff situation. Financially, this is not going to fit
> easily. Even allowing for fuel efficiencies and other cost savings,
tariffs
> are going to have to rise to pay for the new investment.
>
> I wish you good luck in your option development and implementation.
>
>
> Brendan Finn.
> _______________________________________________________________________
> Contact details are : e-mail : etts at indigo.ie   tel : +353.87.2530286
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Bina C. Balakrishnan" <binac at rediffmail.com>
> To: <sustran-discuss at list.jca.apc.org>
> Sent: Friday, June 04, 2004 4:21 PM
> Subject: [sustran] Taxi operations in Mumbai
>
>
>
> Hi everyone,
>
> We are trying to re-organise the taxi operations in Mumbai, introducing
> newer, more efficient models of cars, with a choice of levels of comfort,
> and differentiated tariff structures. Currently, all taxis in Mumbai are
> either owner- driven, or by a driver hired by the owner of a single or
small
> (4-5) fleet of cars. Operational costs in this case seem to be high, and
> vehicle maintenance suffers. Most of these vehicles are also very old, and
> in an attempt to improve both the system as well as the environment
through
> the use of newer, better vehicles, we are examining the feasibility of
> shifting to an "Operator System," where new models of fuel efficient
> vehicles will be owned by a few large operators, who can then optimize
their
> operations.
>
> I would appreciate any information on the experience of other cities
> elsewhere in the world, in this area.
>
> Regards and thanks,
> Bina
>
> Bina C. Balakrishnan
> Consultant
> Transportation Planning & Engineering
> Mumbai, India
> e-mail : binac at rediffmail.com