Tata Motors is negotiating with the governments of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra for grant of stage carriage permits for its passenger carrier Magic, a 4 to 7- seater vehicle. If granted, the permit can be used for local transportation purposes.

With several other states, where the vehicle has been given the carriage permit on specific routes, the company is in talks with the authorities for expanding it to other routes. In some states, the vehicle has been given a contract permit that allows for carrying passengers to specific destinations but not for point to point service. The company is in talks in these states also for a carriage permit.

Magic is a light commercial vehicle and is a part of the Ace family. The vehicle is manufactured at the Pant Nagar manufacturing plant of the company.

It was launched in 2007 and has 700cc 16bhp water-cooled diesel engine. The vehicle has the capacity to accommodate 4-7 persons and starts from R2.60 lakh (ex-showroom Pune).

According to the R Ramakrishnan, senior vice-president (commercial vehicles), Tata Motors, the state transport authorities think that Magic will cannabalise public transport buses and three-wheelers and therefore are apprehensive of granting a full-fledged carriage permit to it. Unless a full-fledged carriage permit is not granted by the state governments to the vehicle, transporters would hesitate in buying it as it would not be that viable.

“Both state government undertakings and three- wheeler unions have their concerns regarding the vehicle and the impact it will have on their livelihood. We have urged the authorities concerned to delineate the routes where the state transport vehicles cannot ply profitably, fix fares and grant us a stage carriage permit,” explained Ramakrishnan.

Magic has been given stage carriage permit on seven routes in Rajasthan, five routes in Gujarat, eight routes in West Bengal and J&K and five routes in Madhya Pradesh.

“We have had talks with the Union ministries for transport and heavy industries and Siam has also made some representations in the past. The Union ministries are in-principle open to it but the permits have to be issued at the state level by the concerned authorities,” added Ramakrishnan.