Click to play videoNew Delhi: Cabs with credit card machines and a GPS system—Delhi will soon have a fleet of about 2000 hi-tech radio-cabs on the roads. Ahead of the commonwealth games in 2010, Delhi will get a spanking new fleet of CNG buses as well. Maruti, Tata motors and Ashok Leyland are already in talks to take charge of the project.
In fact the very first lot of spanking new CNG taxis will hit Delhi roads on January 1 and will cost you Rs 15 a kilometer. The radiocabs will be available 24 hours at the airport, metro stations, railway stations, bus terminals all over the capital.
Monitored by a GPS system, these cars will be monitored to avoid tourists being harassed. While radio cabs were launched in Delhi a few years ago, the fleet remained a miniscule 136 vehicles. However, with the state government playing active part in the project, Delhi should have over 10,000 radio cabs before the commonwealth games in 2010.
“Within next 3 years there will be 5000 radiocabs running across Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai and Jaipur—the prime cities on our map as of now. We want to add 25,000 cabs all over the country with investment of not less than Rs 1000 crores,” Rajiv K Vij CEO, Carzonrent India says.
And that’s not all; the capital city will also get 2000 new CNG buses before 2010. The government tender for 625 buses, will be opened by mid January. Askok Leyland, Tata Motors and King Long are said to be in the running.
“We have 46 lakh vehicles on road, 22 lakh two wheelers, we need dedicated bus corridor, we are getting 800 new low floor CNG buses soon,” Haroon Yusuf Minister of Transport & Power, Delhi
On the lines of yellow cabs in New York, comfort cabs in Singapore, easy cabs will offer swipe machines to make payments thru credit cards, for this the company has tied up with ICICI bank. The company has plans to add 250 more cabs within 3 months and build a fleet of 5000 cabs before commonwealth games in 2010.
(For updates you can share with your friends, follow IBNLive on Facebook, Twitter and Google+)
displayed with permission. Use of the CNN name and/or logo on or as part of CNN-IBN does not derogate from the intellectual property rights of Cable News Network in respect of them.