the small issue

i read, with great amusement, in ht today (mumbai/metro edition, 30jul2009, p3, top-left, headline: travellers give a thumbs up to fleet taxis at airport, by soubhik mitra) about the scene that is a result of the b&y (black and yellow) taxis “agitating” against the presence of the fleet taxis. this is a good small issue.

in the article, a few passengers relate stories of how they took a walk to get to a fleet taxi. how they prefer the fleet taxi to the b&y or the cc (cool cab). while my name doesn’t figure in the article, it could have well been my testimonial. since the arrival of fleet taxis, three now, i have completely shunned the b&y taxis. i have never taken the cc – it has fraud written all over it – they spell it as – cool cab. there was a time when i travelled a lot by taxis and there were no options. i didn’t own a car then. i was mercy to their wish and whim.

the fleet taxi phenomenon is relatively new to mumbai. it was born out of, probably, the frustration that every person in mumbai faced whenever he or she was in need of transport. the constant refusals, the badly tuned meters, and the very uncouth drivers (most of them).

the b&y’s had enough time to realise that they would need to upgrade – they were the ones who were moving about the city, privy to the smallest change that this city was undergoing. the disposable income, the need for comfort, and the requirement of an honest fare. they were the first ones to pick up the foreigners in their cabs; they must have noticed their numbers swell. there is a limit to how much the government can keep falling at its knees at your every whim. when the consumer has a choice, all that the government can do comes to a nought.

the violent agitation they have caused amuses me because i see this as the tremble before a certain death. there is time before this death occurs, but the disease is so gangrenous, there isn’t a cure, unless they shed the decaying b&y body for a healthy corporate colour.

the days when they could hold a weary traveller hostage, are over.

a wonderful article to read. true, that the world is today a majority of compliant rebels and terrorised heroes.

An Open Letter to CEOs: Defend the Profit Motive–or Perish by Alex Epstein — Capitalism Magazine