Lada seeks to bring uniformity to taxi market
Lada Polska, a subsidiary of the Russian auto manufacturer, is set to unveil the details of a zl. 100 million ($22 million) plan this week to enter the Polish taxi market by the end of the year.
The carmaker and a handful of other investors intend to let loose 2,000 bright yellow taxis across 17 cities the biggest transaction in the automotive market this year, according to Lada Polska President Piotr Kowalski.
"The first 1,000 cars will be delivered in November and the next 1,000 by December," he said. "It will be a well-known make of car." Kowalski wouldn't say whether that make would be Lada, and did not reveal what the name of the company will be.
In addition to their eye-catching color, all of the cars will be station wagons and the drivers will sport uniforms. The company's telephone booking number will be the same across Poland, and service will be the big selling point as drivers will have to have a minimum of one year's cab-driving experience to work for Lada Polska.
"The taxi business is the only sector in the automotive market that has not been systematized," Kowalski said. "In every city there is a plethora of taxi companies of various sizes and they all use different car makes and every driver dresses in a different way depending on what their wives have washed.
"We'll be sorting out the market because if a driver wants to join our company, he will have to get rid of his old taxi so the number of taxis on the roads will be the same."
