One minute travel guide to enigmatic pluralism - 3
DAY 3 : DOMESTIC ( EXCLUDING TRAIN ) IE INTER-CITY / INTER-STATE / PRIVATE TRAVEL IN INDIA1. Call-a-cab : Air-conditioned radio sedans are available in all cities. Some of the prominent players are - megacabs ( most popular in kolkata ), easycabs, and merucabs. In-car wifi and credit card swipe facility on-the-go are also available in select cities like bengaluru. They have opened booking counters in airports also. You can call the gps-fitted cab either by dialling the call-center number or by accessing the application from your mobile phone. You could also opt for a female chauffeur ( list not inclusive ) - viira cabs, priyadarshini taxi service, blue arrow etc exclusively cater to women travellers. And if you are travelling alone, you can also avail a MOTO-TAXI in goa ( the bikini capital of India ), which is nothing but a motorcycle with a driver - as seen on busy streets of london-NYC-LA. Offshore / onshore gambling ( casino ) is legal in goa and sikkim only, and so also naturism and topfreedom, but in selected beaches of goa.
megacabs dot com
easycabs dot com
merucabs dot com
viiracabs dot com
priyadarshinitaxi dot com
Blue arrow AC taxi ( kolkata ) : +91-9830527057
2. AC volvo service : You can use them for inter-city and inter-state travel.
redbus dot in
ticketgoose dot com
ticketvala dot com
abhibus dot com
busindia dot com
travelyaari dot com
3. Rent-a-car ( without chauffeur ) : Hertz car rentals and similar services ( with or without the driver ) are available in all major cities including kolkata.
4. Air travel : flying is pretty economical in India. The players are air India, jet airways, spicejet, goair, and indigo - it might be anecdotal and subjective but i usually find air India's meals to be most delicious. The major airports are CAT-IIIB compliant and air India has got largest number of CAT-IIIB trained pilots. The air traffic controls are guided by GAGAN and the indigenously developed INRSS. GAGAN is a satellite based augmentation system jointly developed by ISRO and raytheon and is world's most advanced air navigation system. And the INRSS is an autonomous regional satnav system.
airindia dot com
jetairways dot com
spicejet dot com
goair dot in
goindigo dot in
Future of domestic travel in India : Haven't been to heathrow yet? No problemo! Amritsar will be the second asian city after suncheon and the fourth in the world ( WVU's is a student-mover / non-commercial ) to offer a public robo-taxi network ( computer controlled driverless cabs ) for the masses and the construction work has just commenced. Once completed, it is anticipated to become world's largest personal rapid transit. Similar projects are being planned for new delhi and gurgaon, and are approved for kerala, thiruvanantapuram and jaipur - the last one will have solar podcars. The fare will be undoubtedly cheaper than what the underground railways offer. And what about bullet trains? India's first high speed rail network will be linking ahmedabad to mumbai and the project work has just begun. Six similar super corridors are approved and will come up in near future to connect dozens of cities. The fare will be obviously cheaper than what the low cost air carriers ask.
See you all soon in India!
( All images belong to their respective owners and the second one captures the bengali alphabets etched on the glass-dome of NSCB international airport of kolkata. )
Comments (5)
Thanks for sharing the great photos
aisha - she looks tough and can act tough too. all the women drivers undergo basic kara-te training.