Over 64 per cent of the iconic yellow taxis in Kolkata will be off the roads by March 2025 due to the 15-year service limit imposed by the state transport department.
As per records of the state transport department currently there are around 7,000 registered yellow taxis in the state. Out of them around 4,500 will have to be taken off the roads as per pollution norms that bars vehicles of 15 years old or above from moving on the roads.
These yellow taxis, all Ambassadors, were earlier produced by Hindustan Motors Limited (HML) at the company’s manufacturing unit, Hind Motor in the Hooghly district of West Bengal.
However, since the company has stopped manufacturing this particular brand there is no chance of their replacements.
There is confusion on the exact year when the yellow taxis were for the first time introduced on the roads of Kolkata. Some records of the state transports say that probably 1908 was the year when the first yellow taxi started operating on the streets of Kolkata with the per-mile cost for availing its service being fixed at 50 paise.
However, the Calcutta Tax Association adopted Ambassador as the Standard Tax Model in 1962. Clear visibility of the colour even after the sunset was the reason for choosing yellow as the colour of the taxis
The popularity of yellow taxis has been down for quite a few years now because of the introduction of the app cabs that provide better comfort rides. However, considering the nostalgia associated with the yellow taxis the state transport department is trying to work out a formula to keep that reminiscence alive to an extent and as far as possible.
“Getting Ambassador models back on the streets is out of the question since the company manufacturing it has stopped the production of this brand now. However, the owners holding the permits of old yellow taxis will be able to get new commercial transport permits against the old ones. Thereafter any owner, he or she, whoever wants to get yellow as the colour for that commercial vehicle would be allowed to do that by virtue of special permission from the state transport department. However, all these are at the drawing-board stage now and need discussions with the taxi associations,” said an official of the state transport department.
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