Taxi Driver Online

Black Cabs will be on roads next year




By Khaleeq Kiani

ISLAMABAD, Dec 14: London’s 300 ‘purpose-built Black Cabs’ will be finally running on the roads of Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad within the first quarter next year. Each cab will cost Rs6 million and passengers will pay Rs11.40 per km, says one of the sponsors.

This is part of the Prime Transport Limited’s plan to introduce about 7,000 vehicles in Pakistan in two years and then manufacture at least 6,000 cabs and export half of them to the Middle East, Africa and Asia, excluding China and Central Asian states, Dawood Khan, the chief executive officer of the PTL, told Dawn on Thursday.

The project had became controversial early this year when the government had announced to allow duty- and tax-free import of 300 purpose-built cabs under straight-jacket specifications that basically described the London-based Black Cabs and provided about 15 days for bids. The entire project involved $850 million investment.

Nobody had responded, not even the PTL that had originally conceived the project and had signed a memorandum of understanding with the London Transport International (LTI) to import and then manufacture Black Cabs in Pakistan. As a result, Industries and Production Minister Jehangir Khan Tarin announced on June 22 that the facility of duty- and tax-free import would no more be applicable.

Mr Dawood said his company had not submitted the bid in protest against the government decision to seek bids for import of 300 cabs because his company already had licence from the LTI and had been discussing it with the government since 2001.

He said his company would not import its initial lot of 300 cabs duty free but these would be exempted from sales tax as approved by the Economic Coordination Committee of the cabinet last week. The import would attract a normal 20 per cent duty on completely-built units as applicable to others, he said.

Last week, the ECC had allowed tax-free import of taxis with the new name of ‘purpose-built taxis’ as the CBR recommended that import of duty- and sales tax-free taxis should be allowed.

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

Of course the '330 Taxi's' are all the TX2 trade in's that they can't shift over here!

hehe

another reason to thank the British

CC

_________________
Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

Has anyone worked out the exchange rate for six million rupees? My ancient calculator says 50 grand and change but surely thats not right?

Regards

JD

JD your not too far out, I found the following on a google search for exchange rates, rupees to pounds;

6,000,000.00 PKR Pakistan Rupees = 50,530.89 GBP United Kingdom Pounds

regards

CC

_________________
Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

I'm glad you confirmed that Cap because I thought I was a million miles out? We both know they can't be 50 grand each, perhaps 50 grand for half a dozen? lol

I think this needs further exploration?

Regards

JD

I think the average wage for a semi skilled worker in Pakistan is 2600 rupees per month, that's about £21.

Interest free, the TX will take a person 2405 months to pay off, or 200 years, which funnily enough, is the exact age of GBC's cab

CC

_________________
Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin