All yellow but no Ambassador: City keeps iconic transport mode alive with new fleet
Times of India | 1 March 2025
123 Kolkata: A fleet of brand-new yellow cabs — but not Ambassadors — hit the roads on Friday, preserving the cultural identity of an iconic mode of Kolkata's transport. This comes at a time when the last set of yellow Ambassador taxis is set to be phased out in a couple of years.
Currently available on the Yatri Sathi platform, 20 Maruti Suzuki Wagon R vehicles, painted in classic yellow, are being driven by experienced yellow taxi drivers, ferrying passengers across the city since Friday. The number is likely to reach 150 over the next few months. By the end of this year, around 1,000 new yellow cabs are likely to run on the city roads.
"I have been driving yellow taxis for the past 20 years. I used to take pride in carrying the city's heritage but with the Ambassadors being phased out, there was no way I could drive these taxis any more. But now, I can continue to drive the yellow cabs for the next several years and be part of the city's heritage again," said Kishore Halder from New Town, one of the 20 cabbies who are driving the first batch of new yellow cabs.
Inaugurated by state transport minister Snehasish Chakraborty on Thursday, the fleet was launched by NA Mobility, a company that has tied up with Maruti Suzuki for the Wagon R cars and signed an MoU with the transport department to manage the fleet at the Bengal Global Business Summit last month. As part of the arrangement, the company has been buying cars from Maruti Suzuki, painting them yellow, and leasing them out to drivers in exchange for a daily rental fee. The website states that currently, the cab lease is Rs 900 per day.
"We are the only company that has the licence to roll out these yellow cabs now according to our agreement with the state govt. The clean, environmentally friendly cars run on CNG and petrol, and have images of iconic city structures like Victoria Memorial and Howrah Bridge painted on them. Talks are also on with Maruti Suzuki to see if they can provide us with pre-painted yellow cars in the design that has been sanctioned by the state," said Hasibul Hossain, one of the four directors of the company, which began operation in Dec last year.
"While all drivers can apply for the cars, we are giving priority to experienced yellow taxi drivers," he added.
While the cabs are currently only available on the Yatri Sathi platform, drivers and operators said they could be available across other app cab platforms soon. "It's a new business model where companies are buying cars in a lot and renting them out to drivers who pay a daily rental to the companies. In that way, the drivers don't need to buy cars," said Indranil Banerjee, general secretary of West Bengal Online Cab Operators Guild.
The number of Kolkata's iconic yellow taxis, introduced in 1962 with Hindustan Motors' Ambassador cars, has dwindled from 18,000 a decade ago to just 7,000 in 2024. By the end of 2025, fewer than 3,000 will remain.
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