After Nano, hi-tech taxis to say 145;Hello146;

Himanshu Patel, Chief Executive Officer of Ekta Corporate Services Pvt Ltd, which is launching the service, said, 8220;These metred taxis will be equipped with facilities of global standards. Initially, the Indica Zeta will be pressed into service, as it is more comfortable.8221;

He added that the services will be available 24215;7. The service is accessible on a single number with 30 lines.

Elaborating on the functioning of the service, he said that on receiving a call for pick-up, the reservation centre will use its GPS Global Positioning System screen to search the nearest available taxi and inform the customer about the time the taxi would take to reach him/her.

Costs will be calculated on kilometre basis, from pick-up to drop-off.

Satellite tracking, economical fare for point-to-point transfer, quick commuting and other features will make these taxis a preferred mode of transport for one and all.

To ensure safety of the passengers, all the taxis will be constantly monitored at the central office, said Patel. Taxis that are connected with GPS will be controlled from the call centre itself. The ignition keys of the taxis can be switched off from the call centre itself in case of any trouble, he said.

Trained and professional drivers will be hired. Also, all the taxis are equipped with a panic button, as part of an emergency control system that intimates about any problem being faced by the customer.