‘City has no space for small taxis’

MUMBAI: There will be no new small taxis in the city anymore. Alarmed by the exponential growth in the number of vehicles, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Transport Authority (MMRTA) headed by transport secretary C S Sangitrao has proposed a complete ban on registration of smaller vehicles—less than 1,000 cc, as cabs, initially in Mumbai, Thane and Pune.

The multi-pronged strategy to tackle traffic congestion will also see the introduction of 6+1-seater cabs and boost in public transport by adding a fleet of over 5,000 new buses for the metropolis.

It was found that vehicle density in Mumbai was 750 vehicles per sq km, 1,700 in Pune and 800 in Thane against the standard vehicle density of 350 vehicles per sq km. “Mumbai has crossed the stage of saturation. Now, it can’t afford more number of vehicles, therefore the MMRTA has decided to halt registration of vehicles of less than 1,000 cc as cabs,’’ a senior official told TOI.