Week after launch,not a single booking on direct Mumbai airport-Pune taxis

Shetty said they will continue parking the taxis at the airport till they get the pre-paid booth. “The airport authorities have promised us the pre-paid booth at the earliest. But it seems that it might take some time to get the required clearances. We are sure that there is enough business at the airport,but we do not want to function like agents till we get the booth,” he added.

After this new service was announced,the black-and-yellow taxi owners at Mumbai domestic airport had gone on a one-day flash strike to protest against this service. The taxi owners’ contention was that when the Mumbai-Pune share taxis have a designated stand at Dadar TT from where they have been operating for several years,it was unfair for them to want to encroach upon their prepaid stand at the airport.

The new taxis,most of which will be six-seater Innovas,will ply passengers on a share-basis directly from the airport to Pune. The fare is Rs 375 per person but Rs 195 toll tax will be also be shared among the passengers. “It is a point-to-point service and the black-and-yellow taxi drivers do not need to feel threatened. We will not ply within the city,” Shetty had clarified after the strike.

On October 3,the Bombay High Court had instructed the Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) to ensure that necessary facilities are made available “expeditiously and within four weeks from the day this order is passed” to the MPTOA. As per the directive,the MPTOA had also submitted all the information regarding the drivers and the vehicles that would operate from the airport.