Starting today, October 30, the renowned Kaali-Peeli taxis of Mumbai, long regarded as a symbol of the city, will no longer be a common sight on its streets. This shift is part of a transition towards newer car models and the growing presence of app-based cab services in India's financial capital. Marking the end of an era as the iconic Premier Padmini Taxis cease operation, Anand Mahindra, Chairman of the Mahindra Group, took to Twitter to express his heartfelt farewell to these taxis that held countless cherished memories for him.
He wrote on X (formerly Twitter), From today, the iconic Premier Padmini Taxi vanishes from Mumbai's roads. They were clunkers, uncomfortable, unreliable, noisy. Not much baggage capacity either. But for people of my vintage, they carried tons of memories. And they did their job of getting us from point A to point B. Goodbye and alvida, kaali-peeli taxis. Thank you for the good times.
The iconic black-and-yellow 'Premier Padmini' taxis, affectionately known as 'kaali-peeli,' is all set to bid farewell to the streets of Mumbai from today after six decades of service, due to the age limit for cabs in the city being 20 years. An official from the transport department was quoted as saying by news agency PTI that the last Premier Padmini was registered as a black-and-yellow taxi on October 29, 2003, at the Tardeo RTO, which has jurisdiction over the city of Mumbai. These black-and-yellow taxis bid adieu to the city streets making way for newer models and app-based cab services. The Mumbai Taximen’s Union, one of the biggest taxi driver unions in the city, had petitioned the government few years ago to preserve at least one kaali-peeli, however their efforts did not bring any success.