The Uttar Pradesh government is already initiating a move to relax tax norms on radio cabs entering Noida from Delhi. And the Haryana government has recently issued licences to five firms offering radio taxi services in Delhi to operate from Faridabad and Gurgaon.

Dr G Prasanna Kumar, Haryana’s Principal Secretary (Transport and Civil Aviation) says the licences have been issued from Panchkula, too, and taxis registered in these three districts (Faridabad, Gurgaon and Panchkula) will be allowed to ply in all cities of the state.

“The licences have been issued by the state transport authority on the condition that each firm will have to increase its current fleet by at least 150 more cabs,” Kumar says. “So there will be more radio cabs available to the suburbs.”

While the present fleet of radio taxis plying through the National Capital Region is about 700, the time-frame set for these firms to increase their fleet is three months. With five firms already given licenses, the number is expected to go up by at least another 750.

Keeping with the anti-pollution norms followed by Delhi, the transport department of Haryana has instructed these taxi-operating firms to ensure that only vehicles complying with Euro-III norms are introduced in the state. The Haryana government had lifted toll tax levied on commercial vehicles entering the state in 2003.

Rajiv K Vij, managing director of EasyCabs, says the move will improve inter-city travel, even as Noida is still to remove all restrictions. “Radio cabs ensure comfort and safety as they are monitored by GPS technology,” he says. “Besides, commuting becomes organised as we follow a tariff structure uniform across the state and fixed by the government.”

The current fare charged is Rs 15 per kilometer.

Vij’s EasyCabs currently runs a fleet of 350 cabs in the NCR.