Kerala Transport Minister rolls out radio taxis in Kochi

Kochi: Kerala’s first radio taxi service has arrived in Kochi. Named Taxio, a startup venture of young minds, the radio taxi is meant to provide a reliable and efficient transport system in the city. Transport Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan flagged off the facility at an event on Thursday evening.

The control center of Taxio, functioning at Panampilli Nagar, tracks vehicles round the clock using the GPS system. The system provides the nearest available cab to the customer thus minimizing the waiting time. Radio taxis are a feature of metro cities across the world.

“At Taxio we strive to provide customers a car in 10-15 minutes of actual booking. We provide pickup and drop door to door. To promote road pickup, radio taxis will use a dome which when busy lights red and yellow when free. This will help customers easily identify free cars as they pass by,” said Vijay Nair, Managing Director.

At any given point of time any authorized person can access the tracking system of Taxio online (www.taxio.in) and know the actual real time location of the vehicle. In times of emergency, there is a mobile app for generating SOS or a call can be made from the number from where the booking was made.

“At Taxio, customers need only pay for the distance and time the vehicle is utilized. For any trips used within city limits return charges are exempted.

The minimum charge starts at Rs 90 and a fleet of 100 cars is being rolled out initially” said Nair.

Taxio has cabs that are driven by women. Taxio has been operational since January 2014 on a trial basis. “In the near future, we will be providing service in Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram for half the existing rates,” said Vijay Nair, Managing Director Team Taxio comprises Anjana Balachandran, Sandeep Bhaskar, Adarsh Unnithan, Peethambaran, Suresh and Naufal.