Once A Heritage Now A Burden. Iconic Yellow Taxi of Kolkata to Be Scrapped Off by 2025

India has some iconic places that are loved by all the people, especially tourists from different parts of the world. While not most tourists are eager to explore the usual sights, few like to explore the untold and unexplored vicinity. Kolkata is one of the largest cultural hubs where traditions still flow through the nerves. Old buildings and cascading landscapes simply take your breath away. Amid all the chaos, lives a small part, Yellow Taxi. Besides transporting people from one place to the other, they also reside in the heart of urban living.

Yellow cabs or “Taxi” paved their way right after the British era ended in India. Kolkata, being a highly popular place for trade and easy water transportation needed an urban transportation that can solve the problem of people and help in carrying a higher amount of load. Thus, Hindustan Motors came up with a revolutionary Ambassador, based on Oxford III, an uplifted version used in many different countries. To date, HM was one of the most trusted and reliable car brands.

Many people would come for an opportunity and would find none. Moroased, they would turn to driving Yellow taxis to earn a living. Many would rent out the yellow taxis from the Mahajans and earn a commission on the money earned, while some would buy it. Each of the cabs held a sense of responsibility in the streets and charmed people all around.

With the initiation of technological landscapes and its ever-growing phenomena, radio taxis and application-based cab booking seemed simple and convenient. Moreover, waiting to find a cab even at night was a challenge. With this, came excessive crowding and traffic congestion. HM Ambassador switched off its production in 2014. The entire Ambassador series could not see innovation or any potential development in the new model. The entire production was at a halt leading to barriers in car maintenance.

Owners would turn to local garages; however, the poor availability of spares created a potential threat to Yellow Taxis. Yellow Taxis were even more dominated by app-based cabs and radio taxis, which became popular in 2016. Thus, the sustenance came to a halt. Local garages turned into innovation centers where they would try every bit to repair the cars despite of unavailability of the spares.

Soon after the introduction of more aggregators, yellow taxis ceased to exist. With Kolkata’s bustling traffic, the Yellow taxi-based Ambassador was unable to meet the traffic compliance. Moreover, being slow to drive they were creating immense issues in road safety along with pollution which the government is trying to combat. All these factors have been considered and a policy to scrap off the Yellow cabs has been brought to ensure better road safety and reduction in the pollution levels.

Yellow Can owners will be given a cess when they purchase a new car along with a minimal registration charge to ensure financial support to the yellow taxi owners. Despite the long culture and constant support in the logistical solution, Kolkata’s Iconic Yellow Cabs are on the verge of bidding adieu.