Mumbai taxis to be better ambassadors of the city

All residents of Mumbai know that their city is the largest in India, the richest by GDP in South and Central Asia and the second biggest city in the world by population. It is the economic powerhouse of the country and is advanced to a world-class level in many ways, such as the Bombay Stock Exchange, the oldest in Asia, major development initiatives such as Nairman Point and the location in Mumbai of five Fortune 500 companies.

Yet in many ways the city also lags behind, there is much unemployment, illegal slums proliferate on the edges of the megapolis, we have some of the most congested streets in the world and our taxi drivers are among the most dangerous (for their driving), rude and unprofessional of any major world city. Fortunately, Mumbai news reports recently revealed that steps are being taken by the state government to correct this problem in a somewhat amusing re-education program for the city’s some 50 lakh taxi drivers.

The program will teach taxi drivers and auto-rickshaw drivers alike the rules of etiquette and socially-acceptable behavior and good manners such a grooming, saying please and thank you, opening the door for passengers, helping with luggage and not spitting out the window in front of passengers.

Mumbai news media reported in mid-2010 that the Maharashtra Economic Development Council (MEDC) was behind the initiative, which is intended to boost economic development and tourism as many visitors to the city will use taxis and ‘uncouth’ behavior may present an unfavorable initial perception of Mumbai.

“More often than not, the tourist’s first interaction is with a taxi driver, and so his behavior is critical to the image of the state,” Vinod Gupta, Vice President of MEDC International, told Mumbai news media. “The driver plays the role of a goodwill ambassador and his training is a very important step in creating the right image of Maharashtra,” he added.

The program will see around 50,000 taxi drivers in Mumbai enrolled for the etiquette classes, while a further 200,000 will be part of the project in the rest of the state from Nashik and Pune to Nagpur and Aurangabad. The classes are just one aspect of a holistic approach to improving the tourism revenue generating capability of the state under the auspices of the “Visit Gold Maharashtra” campaign. Unsurprisingly then, the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) has extended its support to the classes.

The MEDC has outsourced a private company to carry-out the program and the exact cost of such a project has not been made public, but local government officials behind the move, while remaining tight-lipped on its cost, have insisted it will be for the benefit of Mumbai and the state as a whole. For She Travel & Logistics Pvt Ltd, the private company in charge of the program, has also expressed its delight and insisted the course will be done in a manner that is respectful to the drivers, treating them as adult learners.

“Training will be given in Marathi, Hindi and English,” said Revathi Roy, a spokesperson for the company, adding that the courses would be held with 100 to 150 drivers in each class at regional traffic offices around the state. Road safety and fuel efficiency are also on the curriculum, which officials insist will engender a “dramatic change” to the taxi and auto-rickshaw industry.