Mumbai Taxis
If you are new in Mumbai, you have no alternative but to have car and driver to take you around. Public transportation is the pits!!! While I have not taken a bus or a train in Mumbai, just a cursory glance at either of them would make me squirm. I am sure it is an acceptable form of transport to many, but if I have relocated to Mumbai from the first world, I do expect some basic material comforts!!
Initially, I started off by renting a taxi. The taxi in Mumbai comes in two varieties: a regular taxi and an air-conditioned taxi. Being that Mumbai is extremely hot and humid, I thought it was best to stick to an air conditioned taxi. But they charge significantly more and there is no guarantee that the driver will actually turn on the air conditioner. My guess is that the air conditioner is often not working.
So I ditched the air conditioned taxi and started taking the regular taxi. The air conditioned taxi is generally an Indigo, a locally made car. Indigo is a good car, a little noisy but who cares because the outside noise over powers the engine noise!! The non-air conditioned car is generally a Premier Padmini which is a knock off of the 1950's (I think) Fiat. I believe that anywhere else in the world, a Premier Padimini would have been melted down for its scrap value but in Mumbai, they are the taxi of choice.
Premier Padmini has no bucket seats. There are two benches and driver for some strange reason sits almost attached to the door (may be reflecting an earlier era were entire extended families huddled into a single car). Traveling in Premier Padmini is a little scary since I am not always convinced that there is a brake in working condition. The cars are no longer in production and thus, all of them look exceedingly old. The interior generally smells and badly at that. Just for guidelines, think of a New York city cabbie (un showered with no deo!!). Mumbai cabbie is after all, New York city cabbie's poor cousin. So put together a old disheveled car with an upholstery from the 1970's and cabbie who has probably not showered and has not heard of deodorants!!! That's what you get when you hail a cab in Mumbai.
All taxis in Mumbai are supposed to be metered and you pay based on the metered rate. Now if you look like a sucker and act like one, you will be made a sucker!!! So before you sit in a taxi, make sure you act knowledgeable. Do not start a conversation with the cabbies. If you think you are being taken for a ride (believe me they do take you out on long rides even when your destination is a few steps away!!), stop the cabbie when you see a cop and ask the cop for help. Cops hate cabbies and are generally on your side against a cabbie.
Do not tip!! If you are loaded give generously to CRY or some such charity.
Initially, I started off by renting a taxi. The taxi in Mumbai comes in two varieties: a regular taxi and an air-conditioned taxi. Being that Mumbai is extremely hot and humid, I thought it was best to stick to an air conditioned taxi. But they charge significantly more and there is no guarantee that the driver will actually turn on the air conditioner. My guess is that the air conditioner is often not working.
So I ditched the air conditioned taxi and started taking the regular taxi. The air conditioned taxi is generally an Indigo, a locally made car. Indigo is a good car, a little noisy but who cares because the outside noise over powers the engine noise!! The non-air conditioned car is generally a Premier Padmini which is a knock off of the 1950's (I think) Fiat. I believe that anywhere else in the world, a Premier Padimini would have been melted down for its scrap value but in Mumbai, they are the taxi of choice.
Premier Padmini has no bucket seats. There are two benches and driver for some strange reason sits almost attached to the door (may be reflecting an earlier era were entire extended families huddled into a single car). Traveling in Premier Padmini is a little scary since I am not always convinced that there is a brake in working condition. The cars are no longer in production and thus, all of them look exceedingly old. The interior generally smells and badly at that. Just for guidelines, think of a New York city cabbie (un showered with no deo!!). Mumbai cabbie is after all, New York city cabbie's poor cousin. So put together a old disheveled car with an upholstery from the 1970's and cabbie who has probably not showered and has not heard of deodorants!!! That's what you get when you hail a cab in Mumbai.
All taxis in Mumbai are supposed to be metered and you pay based on the metered rate. Now if you look like a sucker and act like one, you will be made a sucker!!! So before you sit in a taxi, make sure you act knowledgeable. Do not start a conversation with the cabbies. If you think you are being taken for a ride (believe me they do take you out on long rides even when your destination is a few steps away!!), stop the cabbie when you see a cop and ask the cop for help. Cops hate cabbies and are generally on your side against a cabbie.
Do not tip!! If you are loaded give generously to CRY or some such charity.
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