Cabs change colour in Kolkata, guarantee 'no refusal'

Guaranteeing 'no refusal' to passengers, a new fleet of taxis coloured blue and white instead of the normal yellow, hit the roads in the metropolis on Thursday.

Launching the fleet of 50 such new taxis in Kasba area, West Bengal Transport minister Madan Mitra said the cabs would be beneficial for both drivers and passengers.

The state transport ministry

had earlier decided to change the colour of taxis in the metropolis from yellow to white with a blue band.

"Passengers would benefit because there would be no refusal from these taxis and drivers would be automatically protected from police action," Mitra said.

Mitra said 2,000 such new cabs in both AC and non-AC would be on the streets soon.

He also announced that his ministry sanctioned Rs 5 crore (Rs 50 million) for building new taxi stands in the metropolis.