I had read, and during one of my early visits to Calcutta we were told (by a taxi driver), that Calcutta had ten lakh (10,00,000 or one million) taxis. If that was indeed true then I suspect that it applied to the metropolitan area of Kolkata, not just to the city itself. Even then, though, it is quite amazing as that meant one taxi for every fifteen individuals. However, if it was true then I suspect that it is no longer true. The population of the state of West Bengal (and--I assume--that of the city of Kolkata) has gone down drastically in the last thirteen years and I assume that the number of taxis have gone down equally. An article from that era indicates that there were significantly fewer taxis. Nevertheless, the fact that there are taxis is a nice feature.
I have been to five (Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai and Kolkata) of the seven most-populated cities in India, and Caroline has been to Delhi (although neither of us has been to Ahmedabad). Other than Mumbai and Kolkata (and perhaps--although unlikely--Ahmedabad), none of those cities have taxis. Instead, they have auto-rickshaws. (More on this in another post)
That may or may not be completely true. It is true that they are auto-rickshaws in those cities. It is also true that Kolkata has the large yellow taxis
and that Mumbai has the smaller black-and-yellow taxis.
However, during our recent visit to Hyderabad, I became aware of one taxi that looked nothing like either of these. It was newer and had (I believe) AC. (Air conditioning in the taxis of Kolkata and Mumbai is available only when you roll down the windows.) It is my impression, though, that if taxis exist in Hyderabad then you have to call a central telephone number to get a taxi; it is my impression that you can not simply hail a taxi.
In a few of my posts, I have described taxis, and the problems associated with trying to get one. Regarding the latter, though, we have been encountering fewer problems recently. There seem to be more and more drivers willing to pick us up (although there are still many who do not have passengers and who still drive past us, even after hailing them) and more and more drivers willing to go by meter (although one driver wanted 150 rupees to go to Fairlie Place, which would have been expensive even if we were going to the Howrah train station, which is twice as far).
You also have to be careful of climbing into a taxi with a broken meter. Unless you have already been to and from your destination many times and know the appropriate fare, the driver will surely cheat you. It does seem to be de rigueur to charge more if you have large luggage or packages with you. I do not know if that is official policy, or simply a way for a driver to earn more income. In either case, Caroline and I are charged 10-30 rupees when we have such luggage. It seems that from the Airport, drivers want to charge 100 rupees more. However, I have read and heard several times that the Pre-Paid rate is the only money that you should pay, so if you are charged more for luggage on a Pre-Paid taxi, then I would suggest taking another taxi or refusing to pay. Finally, and as I mentioned in my Interview post, you have to know the formula for the city/state that you are in. The taxi-drivers (and auto-rickshaw drivers in other cities) do have a chart, but it may be more confusing than helpful to a passenger.
In a few of my posts, I have described taxis, and the problems associated with trying to get one. Regarding the latter, though, we have been encountering fewer problems recently. There seem to be more and more drivers willing to pick us up (although there are still many who do not have passengers and who still drive past us, even after hailing them) and more and more drivers willing to go by meter (although one driver wanted 150 rupees to go to Fairlie Place, which would have been expensive even if we were going to the Howrah train station, which is twice as far).
You also have to be careful of climbing into a taxi with a broken meter. Unless you have already been to and from your destination many times and know the appropriate fare, the driver will surely cheat you. It does seem to be de rigueur to charge more if you have large luggage or packages with you. I do not know if that is official policy, or simply a way for a driver to earn more income. In either case, Caroline and I are charged 10-30 rupees when we have such luggage. It seems that from the Airport, drivers want to charge 100 rupees more. However, I have read and heard several times that the Pre-Paid rate is the only money that you should pay, so if you are charged more for luggage on a Pre-Paid taxi, then I would suggest taking another taxi or refusing to pay. Finally, and as I mentioned in my Interview post, you have to know the formula for the city/state that you are in. The taxi-drivers (and auto-rickshaw drivers in other cities) do have a chart, but it may be more confusing than helpful to a passenger.