Kolkata to get pink taxis for women

The West Bengal government is all set to introduce pink taxis for women in Kolkata.

The West Bengal government is all set to introduce pink taxis for women in Kolkata.

According to sources in the Transport Department, the decision was taken in view of the increasing number of women passengers especially those who work in IT sector and often have to return home late night. Recently a similar taxi service was launched in Bengaluru.

“These pink taxis will only have women drivers and will be for women passengers. As per the instruction of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee the initiative has been taken under the state government’s Gatidhara Scheme,” a senior Transport Department official told DH.

Sources further revealed initially, the government is planning to introduce 50 taxis. However, the number can be increased depending on the number of application the government receives.

The development comes at a time when there have been several instances of women passengers being harassed by taxi drivers in Kolkata. “ We are hopeful that the introduction of pink taxis will reduce the number of such incidents in Kolkata,” the official said.

There is an upper ceiling of the annual income of Rs. 25,000 for applicants. The age limit for applicants from the general category is 20 to 45 years and for the SC, ST category the upper age limit will be 45 years. The applicants have to be registered with the employment exchange.

However, unlike the women-only taxi service in Bengaluru, the pink taxis in Kolkata will be allowed to take booking of male senior citizens based on the discretion of the driver.

Sources said that the color scheme of the taxi will not be totally pink but only the upper half of the vehicle will be pink. The pink taxis are expected to hit the Kolkata roads within the current financial year.