Trade Bytes

Meru taxis to recruit 200 additional drivers this year

ETW Staff - Mumbai

Fleet management company V-Link has launched Meru, a metered call taxi service in Mumbai in association with India Value Fund, a private equity fund. The company has launched 150 taxis in Mumbai and will increase the number to 1,000 by December 2007. Eventually, V-Link aims to manage a fleet of at least 10,000 cabs across major metros of the country in the next three to five years.

With this expansion, V-Link is looking to hire 200 additional drivers. Anjan Deb, its COO, said, "We are offering drivers an opportunity to work in the organised sector, where they will earn well above the average industry standards. We provide a one-week extensive training programme on customer handling, safe driving skills, company processes, city road knowledge and operation of the GPS/GPRS technology, which ensures that our customers get the best service possible."

He added, "These better trained drivers will be well groomed - provided with smart uniforms, shoes and mobile phones. Further, Meru drivers are also entitled to benefits such as Provident Fund and Employee State Insurance Corporation Scheme along with Accident Insurance Cover while they are on duty. We also only recruit drivers with minimum three years of experience on Mumbai roads and with a basic knowledge of reading addresses in English."

The company plans to launch its operations in Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad and other metros in the coming months. V-Link currently offers an advance booking system for Meru which allows a customer to book for a cab by calling up or logging onto www.merucabs.com.