Move over Amby, Indigo is here

I recall a comment by a blogger, who came visiting Kolkata from the south (Bangalore likely). Awestruck to see Ambassador taxis plying in the city, she had this to say, “The most surprising thing I noticed in Kolkatta was that there are still Ambassador cars plying on its road!“

Indeed, for as long as one remembers, the ubiquitous Ambys never deserted the city streets. The makers – Hindustan Motors, founded in 1942, owned by the CK Birla group – did little to change the car’s appearance, though under the hood the old warhorse went through periodic upgrading.

The car has become so synonymous with India’s elephantine old that it was no surprise to feel the way Shwetha (the blogger’s name) felt.

It’ll not be wrong to say that one of the biggest purchasers of Amby has been the government sector, and of course the hundreds of cabs that ply the city. This may soon change.

The state government is permitting a launch of 300 Tata Indigo cars as AC taxis in the city. These are luxury cabs, to be armed with GPS (or geographical positioning system) facilities so that they can be located wherever they are in the city and directed to nearby places when required. They will charge 25% more than the normal fares.

This is unlikely to make much dent in the Amby’s formidable 35000-strong presence as taxis in the city unless the number increases in the near future. There are some Tata Indica luxury taxis, branded as Blue Arrow, but their numbers are very few.

The Indigo cabs will be operated by the car-rental agency, the Orix Group, and these for now will run only in the city.

Meanwhile, the crisis-ridden Hindustan Motors, having lost all the first-mover advantages to produce state-of-the-art cars, is banking on hiving off part of its vast tract of land in Hindmotor complex for real estate development with US-based companies.

This alone is creating renewed interests for the Hindustan Motors scrip at the bourses, and analysts argue the cost of land in Hindmotor is a strong case for the stock’s revaluation. Ok then, if not car, let it be land.

Kolkata’s enduring duo: blue private bus and yellow taxi

[Collated from ET, Nov 28]