Photographs: Vivek Prakash/Reuters.
The sturdy premier Padmini cabs, which complete 25 years, are now being phased out for new sleeker cars that adhere to Euro emission standards.
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Sunset for Mumbai's famous black and yellow taxis
Photographs: Vivek Prakash/Reuters.
With a government order banning taxis over 25 years, the number of Premier Padmini taxis has begun to dwindle and, in a few years, they will be gone from Mumbai's streets altogether.
...Sunset for Mumbai's famous black and yellow taxis
Photographs: Vivek Prakash/Reuters.
Mumbai's current taxi fleet has about 51,000 vehicles, of which it is estimated that around 8,000 vehicles are over 25 years old.
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Sunset for Mumbai's famous black and yellow taxis
Photographs: Vivek Prakash/Reuters.
The Premier Padmini was manufactured in India by Premier Automobiles from 1964 to 2000. It is based on the design of Fiat's 1100-series cars from the 1960s.
It was Premier Automobiles which joined hands with Fiat in introducing taxis in India.
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Sunset for Mumbai's famous black and yellow taxis
Photographs: Vivek Prakash/Reuters.
The beleaguered company, however, stopped manufacturing in 2000. Premier cars became very popular in India as people preferred the sleek model to the bulkier Ambassador from Hindustan Motors.
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Sunset for Mumbai's famous black and yellow taxis
Photographs: Vivek Prakash/Reuters.
The vehicle quickly became the iconic workhorse in Mumbai's fleet of black and yellow taxis until economic liberalisation in the 1990s allowed different makes and models to be produced in India.
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Sunset for Mumbai's famous black and yellow taxis
Photographs: Vivek Prakash/Reuters.
There has been a lot of debate over rise in pollution and environmental threats caused by these vehicles, but taxi chauffeurs refute this, saying that all taxis run on CNG or LNG.
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Sunset for Mumbai's famous black and yellow taxis
Photographs: Vivek Prakash/Reuters.
They reckon that the Fiat taxis are sturdier and safer compared to the Maruti Omni (which is the model most cabbies plan to buy to get back on the roads).
The government move is to encourage fleet taxis, they point out.
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Sunset for Mumbai's famous black and yellow taxis
Photographs: Vivek Prakash/Reuters.
Environmentalists who support the phase-out programme say that the taxis are dirty, old, unsafe and polluting and should be replaced by less-polluting and safer vehicles.
Click NEXT to see more images of Mumbai's iconic taxis...
Sunset for Mumbai's famous black and yellow taxis
Photographs: Vivek Prakash/Reuters.
A taxi driver takes an afternoon nap next to his Premier Padmini taxi in Mumbai.
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Sunset for Mumbai's famous black and yellow taxis
Photographs: Vivek Prakash/Reuters.
A taxi driver sits inside his Permier Padmini taxi with his blue light switched on as he waits for customers in the rain near Mumbai's Chhatrapathi Shivaji railway station.
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Sunset for Mumbai's famous black and yellow taxis
Photographs: Vivek Prakash/Reuters.
A taxi driver looks out of his Premier Padmini taxi while stuck in traffic in a slum in Mumbai.
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Sunset for Mumbai's famous black and yellow taxis
Photographs: Vivek Prakash/Reuters.
A taxi driver sleeps on the boot of his Premier Padmini taxi at a taxi park in Mumbai.
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Sunset for Mumbai's famous black and yellow taxis
Photographs: Vivek Prakash/Reuters.
A mechanic sits on a seat salvaged from a scrapped Premier Padmini taxi at a workshop in Mumbai.
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Sunset for Mumbai's famous black and yellow taxis
Photographs: Vivek Prakash/Reuters.
A taxi driver inspects the engine of his Premier Padmini taxi at a taxi park in Mumbai.
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Sunset for Mumbai's famous black and yellow taxis
Photographs: Vivek Prakash/Reuters.
A Premier Padmini taxi makes it way through pedestrians and vehicle traffic on a crowded street in Mumbai.
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Sunset for Mumbai's famous black and yellow taxis
Photographs: Vivek Prakash/Reuters.
Customers sit in the cramped backseat of a Premier Padmini taxi during rush hour in Mumbai.
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Sunset for Mumbai's famous black and yellow taxis
Photographs: Vivek Prakash/Reuters.
A family looks out from a Premier Padmini taxi parked along a street in Mumbai.
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Sunset for Mumbai's famous black and yellow taxis
Photographs: Vivek Prakash/Reuters.
A mechanic uses a wire brush to scrub the inside of a Premier Padmini taxi before it is refurbished at a taxi workshop in Mumbai.
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Sunset for Mumbai's famous black and yellow taxis
Photographs: Vivek Prakash/Reuters.
A driver looks at his Premier Padmini taxi after its rear wheel got stuck in a pothole on a suburban road in Mumbai.
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Sunset for Mumbai's famous black and yellow taxis
Photographs: Reuters.
A mechanic salvages engine parts from a Premier Padmini taxi which will be scrapped at a scrapyard in Mumbai.
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Sunset for Mumbai's famous black and yellow taxis
Photographs: Vivek Prakash/Reuters.
Premier Padmini taxis are parked outside a workshop in Mumbai.
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Sunset for Mumbai's famous black and yellow taxis
Photographs: Vivek Prakash/Reuters.
A driver demonstrates the use of a manually operated fare meter on his Premier Padmini taxi in central Mumbai.
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Sunset for Mumbai's famous black and yellow taxis
Photographs: Vivek Prakash/Reuters.
Premier Padmini taxis drive along a suburban street in Mumbai.
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Sunset for Mumbai's famous black and yellow taxis
Photographs: Vivek Prakash/Reuters.
A mechanic pulls the door off a de-registered Premier Padmini taxi being taken apart at a scrapyard in Mumbai.
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Sunset for Mumbai's famous black and yellow taxis
Photographs: Vivek Prakash/Reuters.
A taxi driver waits for customers in his Premier Padmini taxi at Marine Drive in Mumbai.
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Sunset for Mumbai's famous black and yellow taxis
Photographs: Vivek Prakash/Reuters.
A mechanic sits in the boot of a Premier Padmini taxi as he tries to fix the vehicle's brake lights at a workshop in Mumbai.
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Sunset for Mumbai's famous black and yellow taxis
Photographs: Vivek Prakash/Reuters.
A mechanic looks at the suspension of a Premier Padmini taxi near a workshop in Mumbai.
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Sunset for Mumbai's famous black and yellow taxis
Photographs: Vivek Prakash/Reuters.
A man washes a Premier Padmini taxi at a taxi parking area in central Mumbai.
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Sunset for Mumbai's famous black and yellow taxis
Photographs: Vivek Prakash/Reuters.
Scrapped fare meters from Premier Padmini taxis lie in a pile at a scrapyard in Mumbai.
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