Mumbai’s Famous Padmini Taxis Discontinued
Mumbai's iconic Kaali Peeli taxis have been retired, leaving mixed emotions and calls for preservation in a museum.
The first icon of Mumbai that everyone saw when they visited the city was the famous Kaali Peeli taxis. The yellow & black colored Premier Padmini has been officially taken off the Mumbai roads. The Maharashtra government has a 20-year age limit for taxis under its Maharashtra City Taxi Rules 2017 to timely eliminate older & more polluting vehicles off the road. The last Premier Padmini was registered as the Kaali-Peeli taxi at Tardeo RTO in October 2003. Therefore, Mumbaikars had to bid farewell to it on 29th October 2023. The Kaali Peeli taxis have been an integral part of Mumbai’s identity for 60 years. Premier Automobiles Ltd. was launched in Mumbai in 1964 under license from Fiat Millecento. Very quickly the car proved to be extremely reliable and became a suitable option for the taxis in Mumbai. The discontinuation of Kaali Peeli is being received with mixed emotions from Mumbaikars. Many believe that it was a lot more than a mode of transportation. It was a symbol of Mumbai’s unique culture & heritage. The Kaali-Peeli taxis were an iconic feature of Mumbai as it has appeared in multiple films, shows, books & novels and has been used by many generations to travel around the city. Some citizens have even demanded the preservation of the taxi in a museum to honor the car’s legacy. Several years ago, a member of Mumbai’s Taximen's Union, had requested the government’s intervention to preserve at least one 'kaali-peeli' taxi but was unsuccessful. The owner of the last registered Premier Padmini taxi bearing registration number MH-01-JA-2556 of Mumbai got emotional and said “Yeh Mumbai ki shaan hai aur hamari jaan hai!” Currently, there are some 40,000 black-and-yellow taxis on the roads of Mumbai. Most of them Hyundai Santro cars but there were approximately 63,000 taxis during the late 90s including the Premier Padmini ‘kaali-peelis’ and the 'blue & silver' air-conditioned "cool cabs."
