Iconic Kaali Peeli Padmini Taxi Will Be Off Mumbai Roads For Good & We're Going To Miss It!

One of the trademarks of Mumbai roads was the Premier Padmini taxi. If you take up any Bollywood movie, shot in Mumbai about a decade or two ago, it was sure to have featured the yellow-black taxi - the iconic Indo-Italian model was, at one time, more popular than pizza, in Bombay.

But these taxis were being phased out for a long time now as their production stopped in 2000. Now there are reportedly less than 50 of these taxis on Mumbai's roads, and even they won¡¯t exist after June 2020.

BCCL

The year was 1964 when Fiat 11oo Delight hit the roads. The next year its name was changed to Premier President and it became Premier Padmini (named after the Indian Queen) in 1974. For the next 30 years, it did justice to its name and ruled the roads.

Reuters

Historian Deepak Rao says that Padmini was preferred by people for its comfort and for that reason, Mumbai authorities chose it over the classic but bulkier Ambassador.

¡°It (Padmini) was a simple compact car, but citizens here were proud of it,¡± TOI quoted Rao as saying.

Reuters

For a new visitor getting out of the airport in the 90s, the first impression of the city was of kaali-peelis, which had ample luggage space in the boot and on the carrier above.

Kishore Raj a Parel resident said, ¡°For any trip¡ªbe it personal or professional¡ªI would hail a Padmini taxi as these drivers were excellent navigators. They knew every road and colony in the island city and suburbs and I never had to look up any Google map.¡±

BCCL

A Padmini taxi driver, K M Mishra is extremely attached to his taxi. He reportedly said, ¡°We always got a word of praise from commuters who found these cabs comfortable in terms of good leg space, suspension and also ride quality."

Historian Deepak Rao said, ¡°It was like a family car where everyone would fit in easily. The front seat was a long one unlike seats of present day taxis, and could accommodate three including the driver, you never felt cramped in these taxis.¡±

BCCL

Padmini taxi gave way to other cars like the Santro, Wagon- R and the i10s. The Mumbai roads will never be the same again without the Premier Padmini taxi on road, and only the 90s kids will know how it felt to ride inside it. Nostalgia is a very real thing, isn't it?