
Premier Padminis had been in service as a taxi in Mumbai for more than 50 years.
Share Post
Premier Padminis had been in service as a taxi in Mumbai for more than 50 years.
Mumbai’s iconic kaali peeli (black and yellow) taxi, the Premier Padmini, has reached the end of its life cycle. This means it has been decommissioned and will no longer be in service from today, October 30. The Padmini taxis had been plying on Mumbai roads for more than 50 years.
To mark the momentous occasion, Anand Mahindra, Chairman of Mahindra Group, posted on X (formerly Twitter) stating “They were clunkers, uncomfortable, unreliable, noisy. Not much baggage capacity either. But for people of my vintage, they carried tons of memories.” Commenting on his post, many said they have had many memories attached to the Padmini taxi on Mumbai Roads.
From today, the iconic Premier Padmini Taxi vanishes from Mumbai’s roads. They were clunkers, uncomfortable, unreliable, noisy. Not much baggage capacity either. But for people of my vintage, they carried tons of memories. And they did their job of getting us from point A to… pic.twitter.com/weF33dMQQc
— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) October 30, 2023
According to reports, the last Premier Padmini was registered as a taxi on October 29, 2003. The transport department in Mumbai has set the age limit for a taxi at 20 years. Recently, Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) also phased out the iconic double-decker buses as they also reached their end of life cycles, i.e 15 years of service).
The Premier Padmini was first introduced in India as the Fiat 1100 Delight in 1964, which was later rebadged as the Premier President and finally as the Padmini. It was produced till 2001 by Premier Automobiles Limited at its factory in Kurla, Mumbai.
Mumbai will continue to have kaali peeli taxis plying on the roads but they will not be the Premier Padminis anymore. These days, the Hyundai Santro Xing has become the most popular choice among kaali peeli taxi drivers, while some can be seen using Maruti Suzuki Alto, Omni, Eeco, Ritz, among others.
MG ZS EV Gets Discount of Up to ₹4.44 Lakh
Satvik Khare 14 Jun, 2025, 7:45 AM IST
Skoda Kushaq, Slavia Facelift Launch Soon; Brand Director Confirms
Satvik Khare 14 Jun, 2025, 7:21 AM IST
Auto Dealers Stare At Historic Inventory Crisis Worth ₹52,000 Crore
Krishna SinhaChaudhury 13 Jun, 2025, 12:09 PM IST
Royal Enfield Flying Flea C6 And S6 Spotted Testing In Ladakh
Sutanu Guha 13 Jun, 2025, 11:04 AM IST
Maruti Suzuki Jimny Crosses 1 Lakh Sales Milestone in Two Years, Driven by Export Demand
Pratik Rakshit 13 Jun, 2025, 10:56 AM IST
Looking for a new car?
We promise the best car deals and earliest delivery!