New taxi colour unveiled

The city’s iconic black and yellow taxis would soon sport a different look.

The city’s iconic black and yellow taxis would soon sport a different look.

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They would now be painted in beige and nut-brown colour. The state transport department also has a Maruti Eeco prototype ready with the new look.

“We have finalised the colour combination — beige and nut-brown — for the taxis,” announced transport minister Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil.

However, the new colours don’t look impressive, especially after the department scrutinised different options for nearly a year. Moreover, the taxi union, which has asked for a minimum three years to replace all vehicles with newer ones, is worried about the cost they will have to incur for colouring the taxis and also get finances for the bigger cars.

“The transport department shouldn’t expect drivers to spend money from their pockets for colouring the taxis. Also, it would be very difficult to buy a car like Innova as taxi due to its high cost,” said A Quadros, general secretary, Mumbai Taximen’s Union.

The state is now trying to rope in manufacturers of all the car models, which will run as taxis, to paint the vehicles with the new colours on behalf of the drivers.