Indian car rental service has undergone vigorous modification in recent years due to the expansion of Indian tourism industry. There has been a significant growth in the influx foreign tourists and in the movement of inland commuters as well. This factor has boosted the Indian car rental service since a decade or so. Taxi-cabs are the most preferred way of transportation nowadays due to increased network of car rental agencies and availability of service at an affordable price. Moreover rented cars are less risky to reach the remote and isolated parts of India. Car rental service is available even on the internet through online booking service.

This article is an attempt to introduce the present status of taxi service in India to those who would like to know what types of taxis are available, how they operate, and to understand the rental charges in general. Here, in India there is no difference between a taxi and a cab. Either way is used usually indicating an automobile for rental services. In most of the Indian cities all four wheeled rental cars are called taxis and three wheeled metered automobiles are called rickshaws. In some preferred cities rental taxis are metered like in Mumbai.
Priorities of travelers vary; corporate travelers, holiday oriented visitors, visiting NRIs, students, jobholders and seekers of recreation like these there are different kinds of travelers. India car rental agencies are trained enough to understand the varieties of customers and booking operators are well aware of changing circumstances. Taxis are available for airport transfer, city pick and drops, sightseeing, traveling to other cities, pick and drop from railway stations to hotels. These days, special car rental services are tailored to suit special category customers such as NRIs and Corporate people. Self-driven car service is not so popular; usually chauffeur driven taxis are available. In selected cities motorbikes are provided with a driver on rent.

Indian cities have both public and private car rental systems. All commercial taxis, both public and private will have yellow number plates, so, it would be easy to identify. But, public taxis need to appear in a particular combination of colors and that varies from state-to state. In Delhi and Mumbai, public taxis will have black and yellow combination where as in Kolkata we find yellow taxis with a blue strip in the middle. Taxis run on Compressed Natural Gas in Delhi. However, for private taxis no such rule exists except yellow number plates.
Prepaid taxis are available in fixed cities at the airports. Or, you can directly go to any taxi stand and book on the spot. In some Metro cities bifurcations like Normal taxis, shared taxis, Radio Cabs, White taxis, and tourist taxis are made to identify the taxis. Taxis are available in all models with AC or without AC. In Delhi, for the first time in India, Female-only cab service has been launched. These taxis are run by women drivers.