Mumbai’s Iconic Kaali Peeli Premier Padmini Taxi Decommissioned

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. 

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.