Lure of IT creates crunch for cab operators

CHENNAI: Have you tried booking a call taxi over the phone recently? Chances are most operators would tell you a cab is just not available, or that you have to wait a couple of hours before they can get one to you. Truth is most call taxi operators, even the more respected ones, are facing a shortage of cabs willing to ply for them.So where have all the cabs gone? Industry insiders say a majority of cab-owners hail from semi-urban and rural districts of Tamil Nadu, and they come to Chennai to make a quick buck out of the taxi business. When they enter the market, they are eyeing IT companies, and this leaves call taxi operators unable to meet fast rising demand for their services.“The demand for call taxis has boomed. What was even till a few years back a luxury is now a favoured service. Lot of people now prefer to take call taxis over autorickshaws. But we are in short supply of cars to send to them,” says K Sathyanarayanan, COO of Bharathi Call Taxi, one of the oldest players in Chennai’s call taxi market.He adds that it is usually only a matter of time before these operators pull out of their contract with IT companies and start plying as call taxis. Other players in the market see things in a similar vein as Sathyanarayanan.“As it is cabs are in rotation between the various call taxi companies. The owners are very fickle-minded and keep jumping from one service provider to the other. Either way, they would stay in the pool from which we have a steady supply. The problem arises when they take up contracts with IT companies and BPOs,” says Srinivasan, manager of Chennai Call Taxi.“We are seriously crippled. The owners don’t realise they can make more money out of plying as call taxis. They are more enamoured by the monthly dole that they get when they are on contract. In the end, everyone loses,” complained the owner of another call taxi operator, wishing not to be named.But the cab owners look at the issue differently. “I agree the rate we get paid per kilometre is lesser when we contract out to IT companies. But it is much less of a headache for us to do so, as we can be sure of getting a particular sum every month,” says V Balaji, who owns three taxis.But does all this mean a customer will end up having to haggle with autorickshaw drivers? No, says Sathyanarayanan. “We have been in this business for over a decade now. They may leave to let their vehicles out on contract. But they always come around back to us, as call taxis are more profitable than office cabs,” he says with confidence.