The taxi industry plays a vital role in many cities as a mode of transportation. Taxis are necessary for a variety of reasons.

Upon arriving at a distant location, we sometimes need a taxi. It is not uncommon for us to take cabs between our homes and offices.

Our vehicle may also break down from time to time. Cabs services are necessary when we take the family out, not feeling like driving drunk or just tired of driving around the city. Taxis services can help us here.

Almost anywhere in India can be booked by phone or online nowadays. Several taxi aggregators offer this type of service in India.

A few cab companies provide pool taxis as well. In other words, the cost is significantly lower than taking a cab yourself.

India has a large number of roads. The availability and affordability of door-to-door transportation and the easy construction and maintenance of roads have accelerated the use of roads. In metropolitan areas, taxis account for most of the road transport. Cabs are dressed differently in each city.

Kolkata had yellow Ambassador cabs, Mumbai had kaali-peeli taxis, and Delhi had CNG black coloured taxis.

A specific colour scheme is not required for private cabs. However, cab service trends have changed dramatically over the past decade. Today, one can book a taxi via the internet. Within 15 minutes, a cab will arrive at your doorstep. App-based cab services have become more and more popular due to the fast and economical service. 

As everyone requires a taxi from time to time, here is a list of the top 10 cab services in India that are incredibly reliable.

Cab services

Cab companies provide a wide range of services based on demographics and people’s interests. These services are available from auto-rickshaws to women-driven cabs (for women’s safety).

The two most popular cab services in India, Ola and Uber, offer different services based on the city. These services include high-quality cabs at low costs, luxury cabs at airports, and onboard internet.

Apps for cab services have grown in popularity for several reasons.

Companies are growing in multiple cities thanks to fleet ownership trends. The cab companies no longer own the cabs, but instead, they are making a bridge between travellers and drivers, allowing more cab drivers to connect with more riders. The booking of cabs has shifted to the app- and website-based methods as technology advances.

Paying for rides can be done with cash, credit cards, debit cards, as well as through many payment gateways after a ride has been completed.

Many more riders are engaged by introducing different segments of cabs, from hatchbacks to luxury cars. Taxi services are likely to grow as availability, quality, and tracking of cabs and passenger safety improve.

The Top 10 Cab Services in India 

• Uber

Uber is now available in India as a taxi aggregator from the United States. Because Uber covers a large area of the country, it is considered the best cab service in India.

The company operates taxis in Mumbai, New Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and other major tourist cities in the country in collaboration with the owners of the vehicles. Uber cabs can be booked online or via a mobile application.

On the website and app, you can choose from various services, including regular taxis, shared taxis, auto-rickshaws, or limousines. Uber is known for its hefty discounts.

In addition, online payments are available via credit cards, debit cards, cash, or net banking. Payments can also be made via the Uber app during the booking process.

• Ola

Founded in 2011 by entrepreneur Bhavish Aggarwal and software engineer Ankit Bhati, Ola is a leading technology company.

Among the largest cab companies in the world and India’s largest cab service, Ola has nearly one million drivers doubling as cabbies.

The Ola taxi app or online booking can book a cab.

Ola can book a taxi, an auto-rickshaw, or even a motorcycle, depending on the destination. When booking a cab with this cab company, discounts are also offered. Several payment options are available.

• Savaari

With Savaari, you can access over 98 cities throughout India. It is the ideal taxi service when you want to travel interstate in India or to multiple locations.

Single rides are also available on Savaari within the city. A unique feature of Savaari is its service for people who plan on going on holidays: contact Savaari and let them know their travel plans.

A travel kit will be sent from Savaari with information about tourist attractions, restaurants, hotels, and other locations.

Using Savaari, you can plan a trip to any destination of your choice. As well as offering an array of cars, Savaari also offers taxis to suit various needs.

• Meru

Launched in Mumbai with True North, Meru was introduced in 2007. Meru was India’s first company to launch a taxi company.

Over the last 11 years, millions of customers have used the company. The company is well-known in the cab business.

Customers throughout the country are loyal to the company. In the regular, deluxe and luxury categories, Meru’s fleet has over 25,000 vehicles.

A variety of products are available to suit any need or budget. Meru vehicles are fitted with GPS navigators, speed warnings, and trip tracking devices.

This feature shows the exact distance your taxi covered and the fare. Taxis are available in over 25 cities across India.

• Bharat Taxi

The leading online taxi service in India, Bharat Taxi, is the fastest-growing. The company covers over 100 cities within India, which provides taxis and drive-yourself cars.

Besides local travel, Bharat Taxi provides long-term car rental, outstation car rental, and corporate cab booking.

Bharat Taxi also offers tour packages in over 100 Indian cities, both big and small.

The company calls itself India’s most affordable cab service. Airport shuttles are provided to and from the station. The service is provided in a superior class.

Among the cars in the company’s fleet are Tata Indica, Swift Dzires, Toyotas, Hondas, and Indigo ECSs. Cabs from Bharat Taxi can be booked online or through their call centre.

• Gozo Cabs

Gozo Cabs is another of the best cab services in India. Gozo Cabs is another of the best cab services in India. Founded in November 2015, Gozo Cabs is another of the best cab services in India.

Taxi services are offered in 200 cities across India by the company. As well as intercity taxis, this leading taxi company also provides multiple-city cab service.

There are reputed American business schools associated with Gozo Cabs’ leadership team, like the Indian Institute of Technology and the Indian Institute of Management.

As a result, Gozo Cabs has successfully incorporated several new features into the cab service industry. Some of these include transparency, different pricing structures and simplified billing systems.

Since the company uses licensed cabbies, it can provide a wide selection of vehicles at different locations to satisfy all customer needs. In India, the company is relatively new.

• My Taxi India

My Taxi India operates in nearly 300 cities in India and has a fleet of approximately 110,000 cars. The taxi company, My Taxi India in India, is ISO 9001:2008 certified.

To ensure the broadest coverage of taxi services, it works with onboard taxi fleet operators across the country. Through My Taxi India’s online portal, you can check cab availability as well as estimated times and other details.

Our taxi service offers rides in and out of the city and trips to multiple cities and outstations.

National Association of Software Services Companies (NASSCOM) honoured the company with its Superstar Startup-2015 award. A startup accelerator recently provided funding to the company.

• Spice Cabs

Founded in 2009, Spice Cabs has become one of the top cab companies in India. Their headquarters is located in the National Capital Region of Delhi.

This cab company serves new Delhi and NCR.

The Spice Cab company offers transportation to several northern Indian cities, such as Chandigarh, Amritsar, Shimla, Rohtak, Jaipur, Dehra Dun, Nainital, Haridwar, and others.

Spice Cab employs drivers who have been cleared by the police and have no criminal or accident records. Safety, security, and smile are the three Ss the company claims to follow.

• OneSideTaxi

A taxi app called OneSide Taxi operates in India. Among the cities served by OneSideTaxi, there are more than 60. Several licensed taxi companies from across the country are working with OneSideTaxi.

Consequently, customers can easily access a very reliable service that is also safe and easily accessible. On top of that, OneSideTaxi only charges fares for one-way rides.

Taxis charge for return trips; this feature of one-way fares was implemented.

OneSideTaxi can be booked online or by phone. Additionally, the company provides multi-city taxis that can stop at multiple locations.

Cab services are essential in India.

With such a diverse population within its borders, Indians constantly travel. The country is home to a variety of cultures and places, but it cannot accommodate them all.

India’s tourism industry is vast, and it also requires cab service providers to cover the entire country. As an essential aspect of Indian culture, a company that offers car hire throughout India needs to provide cab service.

Many tourists travel from north to south and from east to west without understanding the local language. This causes them to look for a travel solution that provides everything they need. With Cab Services, you can travel to any destination in India and the country’s inner cities.

Nowadays, booking a cab online comes with a lot more benefits:

• Cabs can be booked at any time

Online cab booking has probably the most significant advantage of being available whenever you need it. Smartphones or PCs and an internet connection are all you need. Regardless of the time or night, online cab services are always in a hurry.

• Discounts and special offers are available to you

There is consistently an opportunity for you to benefit from exceptional offers and limits when you book a Cab Service in India during a particular season. By utilizing these limits and coupons, you can save considerably and get a discount on your next cab ride by using these limits and coupons.

• Services offered via the Internet are transparent

When you book a cab on the Internet, there are positively no questions regarding the specifics of the trip or the cost.

Moreover, when you hire a legitimate organization, you can rest assured that the cab will arrive at your preferred location based on the specifics of the reservation. Moreover, you can monitor the progress of your trip via the Internet.

The practice of booking a cab online has become a basic and beneficial one these days, saving you money and time and enhancing your levels of convenience.

However, suppose you are a new employee to this office and have never used an online cab service before.

Therefore, it is recommended to spend as much time as is necessary to find the best online cab specialist organization to gain the best understanding.

Several factors should be considered before you book a cab from an irregular specialist company. Take note of all these factors to ensure you have a pleasant cab ride and avoid problems.

• Consider the fare 

You must pay careful attention to the transportation admission procedure when recruiting an online Cab Service in India.

 Ensure you check the admission rates, offers, and limits so you can get the best deal. Moreover, be sure to examine the passage rates of other specialist companies to confirm you are following a reasonable price.

A record check on the notoriety and work history of the cab driver is vital for a safe and enjoyable ride. An examination can determine a Cab Service in India driver’s preparation and experience.

Taxi Policy Guidelines for Promoting Urban Mobility: Report of the Committee

In December 2016, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways formed a committee to propose Taxi Policy Guidelines to promote urban mobility. As a result of the discussion, a set of guidelines for taxi policies was suggested.

A committee appointed by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to create taxi policy guidelines to promote urban mobility submitted its report in December 2016. The committee discussed taxi permits in cities and suggested policy guidelines for taxis during its meeting. State governments will be able to formulate taxi regulations using the guidelines. The committee made the following observations and recommendations:

Growth of cars: Approximately Rs 60,000 crore is lost each year through traffic congestion in Indian cities, contributing to pollution levels.

The uncontrollable growth of vehicles in Indian cities is one of the major causes. Car ownership in the country has grown due to a lack of reliable and convenient transport alternatives.

The current car ownership rate in India is only 5%. India is experiencing an increase in car ownership, which will make the problem worse.

To reduce congestion and pollution in cities, the committee recommended promoting shared mobility rather than individual vehicle ownership at the national level.

Taxi permits: Taxi permits have not been issued in most cities since 1998, according to the committee. Technology has also obsoleted many of these requirements. This creates obstacles for businesses entering the market.

All taxis without restrictions should be granted permits unhindered by states. Keys should also be given online by conditions. Further, personal vehicles should be converted to commercial cars via the internet if specific fees are paid. 

Aggregators: Aggregators are digital intermediaries or marketplaces that connect passengers to drivers for transportation purposes.

Aggregators can aggregate all types of vehicles. All regulations must, however, be followed when selecting a car. Both intra-city and inter-city operations can be handled by their services.

Standardization Testing and Quality Certification or any other agency authorized by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology must validate the apps of aggregators. The company should maintain a physical presence in the states where it operates.

Passengers’ personal information should also be secured through a firewall and redress mechanisms for passenger complaints; Emergency response centres should be available to handle alert calls from passengers.

Taxi permissions: According to the Committee, taxis services in the city should continue to be used as street hailing taxis. It must be allowed for them to take part in aggregator platforms.

The All India Tourist Permit may be used for all taxi operations except for street hailing. Taxis must carry valid permits, insurance, fitness certificates, and pollution certificates to operate. A GPS (global positioning system) should also be fitted to the taxis.

Types of taxis: Among the committee’s recommendations was separating taxis into two categories: economy (less than four metres in length) and deluxe (over four metres in size).

Those who want deluxe taxis should not be regulated and should be permitted to decide their prices according to market forces. 

Taxi operations: The committee recommended avoiding unreasonable restrictions to prevent taxi operations from becoming economically unviable. The composition of the taxi fleet (economy cars and deluxe cars) cannot be restricted to taxi operators (including aggregators).

Conclusion

Since the Indian consumer, especially women, are becoming increasingly aware of the dangers of travelling in taxis late at night, the demand for taxi service providers- especially those that can provide safe services- is expected to rise.

There is great competition in the Indian market for taxi service providers, so advertising and promoting them is essential. The market needs must be appropriately determined. E-marketing is a recommended approach for reaching a broad audience. Hotels, airports, and bars are places where people need taxi services.

The ability to book a cab at such locations on a single call will help to accelerate growth. Parents will be attracted to the idea of school-to-home taxis since they will be able to track their children’s movements.

The trend of renting self-drive cars for a more extended period is emerging in India. As a result of a shortage of skilled drivers, the demand for cabs is higher than the supply, making cabs unavailable at significant locations like airports, bus stands, and railway stations. As a substantial portion of the industry is still unorganized, there is still a massive opportunity for growth.

Many startups are sprouting across India’s cab aggregator industry despite numerous issues – an indication that people prefer to book cabs in advance in their city or for a specific destination.

Cab companies are also offering a full range of travel services. These companies provide a reliable income source for taxi drivers and car owners alike.

Customers like you need not stand on the side of the road to hail a taxi while taxi drivers are guaranteed passengers. Consider calling a taxi service provider next time you need a taxi.

Saving time and finding a better deal are two benefits. By charging very competitive fares, some cab service providers enable you to save money.

edited and proofread by nikita sharma