As Kolkata’s ‘visual icons’ fade, migrant drivers hit roadblock

The yellow taxi isn’t just a vehicle—it’s a livelihood, a symbol, whose history has been carried by generations of migrant drivers in Kolkata. As they are phased out for clean air and modern mobility, drivers say the transition is not just—it is exclusionary.

Text and Visuals

Tanmoy Bhaduri

A yellow taxi crosses the iconic Howrah Bridge in Kolkata.

KOLKATA, West Bengal: Forty-year-old Nathuni Jha arrived in Kolkata fifteen years ago from Darbhanga, Bihar, to drive a yellow taxi. “There are more passengers now, but they no longer choose yellow taxis,” he told The Migration Story. “Everyone prefers app-based cabs with air conditioning, digital payments, and convenience. We’re left behind.” 

Kolkata’s iconic yellow taxis, once a symbol of the city’s cultural identity, are quietly vanishing. At the heart of this slow disappearance is a complex story of migrant drivers, outdated technology, and transition policies that many say are unjust and exclusionary.

Taxis had been operational in Kolkata long before Independence. However, in 1948, the Hindustan Motors (HM) factory was established in Uttarpara, 18 kilometres from Kolkata. It was a major milestone in India’s journey to self-reliance after Independence. In 1962, the Calcutta Taxi Association played a key role in converting the HM’s Ambassador into a taxi, a move that would define Kolkata’s transport identity for decades.

Initially, the taxi business was dominated by the city’s Sikh communities, who worked as both owners and drivers. Over time, migrants from Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha entered the trade in large numbers, gradually becoming the backbone of the city’s transport system.

From Darbhanga to Vaishali, Jajpur to Koderma, thousands of migrant workers came to Kolkata over several decades, drawn by the promise of a steady income and a respected life behind the wheel. Today, many are returning to their native villages burdened by debt, disillusioned by policy, and forgotten by the system.

We met Kartik Behera, 40, from Jajpur, Odisha, outside Sealdah station, who told us that he had been driving a leased taxi in Kolkata for over two decades. “Earlier, meter-based taxis were good. Now, even with the government’s Yatri Sathi app, there’s no demand for yellow taxis. Ola and Uber dominate,” he said and added that he planned to return to his village, unwilling to let his children inherit the struggle. “Those who don’t own their cars and drive for others suffer the most.”

Mohammad Javed from Muzaffarpur, Bihar, is bearing the brunt of the transition.

The closure of the HM factory in 2014 exacerbated the hardship. Sales had been steadily declining and in 2013, only around 2,200 Ambassadors were sold. With no new parts available in the market, repairing the aging cars has become difficult. For 60-year-old Mohammad Javed from Muzaffarpur, Bihar, the decline is not just personal, it’s political. “They [government] shut down Hindustan Motors, stopped making Ambassador cars, parts, and now use pollution rules to remove the rest. The city’s grown, private vehicles have multiplied in past years, why blame yellow taxis alone?” The Ambassador was sold to the French automaker Peugeot in 2017.

The number of yellow taxis has sharply declined after a 2019 government mandate that bars all commercial vehicles older than 15 years from the date of registration from operating. Today, only around 2,000 yellow taxis remain on the roads, from roughly 18,000 a decade ago. This directive, rooted in a 2008 Calcutta High Court order and reinforced by subsequent rulings from the National Green Tribunal (NGT), aims to reduce pollution across the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) area, which includes Kolkata and Howrah. Many of the iconic taxis, most of which fall into this age category, are planned to be phased out by 2027.

A 2022 global air quality report ranked Kolkata as the second-most polluted city in the world in 2019 when adjusted for population. PM 2.5 has been identified as the most prevalent and harmful pollutant affecting the city’s air.  A 2017 study published by MDPI pointed to transportation as the major contributor to Kolkata’s air pollution crisis, citing an overabundance of poorly maintained vehicles. In 2020, a media report referencing records from the state’s transport department revealed that over 3.3 million vehicles in Kolkata and its surrounding areas were running on diesel. The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) had earlier dubbed Kolkata the “diesel capital” of the world. Diesel accounted for 45% of total fuel consumption by car users in the city, and 99% of commercial vehicles were diesel-powered, including the majority of taxis, trucks, and buses.

Siyasaran Paswan from West Champaran, Bihar, sent his family back to the village, as it has become difficult to survive in the city.

Many drivers, like Siyasaran Paswan from West Champaran, Bihar, told The Migration Story they have had to send their families back to their villages. “Now even bikes are part of public transport. They’re faster and cheaper. We can’t compete.” Despite driving for 18 years, Siyasaran is left with just 400 to 600 rupees at the end of a day, not enough to sustain a family in Kolkata.

“There’s no [financial] model for us to replace old vehicles,” Mithu Das, 50, a driver-owner from Howrah, said. He took a private loan and paid 2 lakh rupees in interest to purchase a second-hand yellow taxi in 2015. His car was registered in 2011. “Now the car will be banned by 2026. No bank offers us affordable loans, and there’s no government incentive to switch,” he told The Migration Story. Most yellow taxis, now nearing that limit, are headed for the scrapyard by the end of the year, forcing their drivers into joblessness.

Surendar Raghav, a migrant from Koderma in Jharkhand, struggles to make ends meet while driving a yellow taxi in Kolkata.

Surendar Raghav, a migrant from Koderma in Jharkhand, echoes the same. “I earn 1,400 rupees a day, and keep only 400 after expenses for fuel and owner’s cut. Some days, the police fine us for no reason. One challan and you lose a whole day’s income.”

“There are two sides to this disappearance,” Mudar Patherya, a Kolkata heritage enthusiast, told The Migration Story. “On one hand, it’s a natural evolution of the profession—more drivers now prefer working for Rapido or Uber instead of traditional yellow taxis. As a result, the number of yellow taxis is steadily declining,” he said. The other side was the cultural cost. “The original yellow taxis were more than just vehicles—their presence on the streets was a visual statement. Sadly, that visual language is now fading. This is how the world changes, I suppose, and perhaps we must reconcile with that,” Patherya said. 

In February, the state government launched an initiative in which local taxis, modern vehicles registered as commercial vehicles, were painted yellow and, in collaboration with a private company, were called “heritage taxis”. At the launch, 20 such taxis were inducted with plans to roll out 1,000 by the end of the year. While these taxis retain the iconic yellow colour, aimed at preserving the legacy of the city’s transport heritage, the initiative remains largely symbolic.

Raj Narayan Paswan from Vaishali in Bihar has been driving a yellow taxi since 1978, witnessing the rise and gradual decline of the city's iconic transport.

Sanjeev Roy, Joint Secretary of the Bengal Taxi Association, told The Migration Story the unions are urging the transport department to adopt a more flexible and inclusive policy for yellow taxi drivers and owners.

“Without financial support and policy backing, thousands will be left behind,” he said. “There has been no fare revision from the Transport Department in a long time. While the Yatri Sathi app has helped to some extent, it’s not enough to revive the sector.” Roy also pointed out that despite the government announcing a plan to subsidise a few yellow taxis as part of the heritage fleet, no concrete action followed. “We’ve demanded a proper revival package for heritage yellow taxis. But so far, nothing has moved. Bank interest rates for commercial vehicle loans remain high, making it impossible for drivers or small owners to upgrade or transition.”

For Raj Narayan Paswan from Vaishali in Bihar, who has driven a yellow taxi since 1978, the end feels both personal and historical. “There’s no practical loan model, no support from taxi unions anymore. Everything is political,” he said, adding that along with the government, the banks and the unions are equally to blame for not ensuring a revival package. “There used to be thousands of us. Now there are around 2,000 taxis left, and by next year [June 2027], the last of us will vanish. People will only see them in museums. No one will remember the drivers.”

By June 2027, the last remaining yellow taxi will disappear from Kolkata’s roads.

The last of the yellow taxis can be seen at Sealdah, Howrah and Kolkata railway stations, and a few outside the airport

Tanmoy Bhaduri is a Delhi-based development communication specialist.