MUMBAI: The city's two major taxi unions have prepared an app through which kaalipeelis (black-and-yellow taxis) can be booked just like aggregator cabs such as Uber and Ola. The app will be launched by the month end.As of now, Ola has a provision to book kali-peelis, but only about 3,500 such taxis are registered with it. In comparison, the two unions have a membership of 20,000 taxis in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR, includes Thane and Navi Mumbai).The app, called 9211 Cabs, has security features like tracking and an SOS button for police response, especially for women travelling alone.“All kali-peeli drivers (totalling 35,000 in MMR) will be asked to enrol for the app, which ideally should be used by customers to book taxis across the city ,“ said Prem Singh, leader, Mumbai Taxi Association. “We will provide you service at the doorstep.“Hard-pressed for time, people today love to book taxis using mobile phones, said A L Quadros of Mumbai Taximen's Union. Quadros, head of the big gest taxi union in the region, said, “To keep pace with the competition from private cab aggregators, we decided to have a mobile app of our own."An official with Ola Cabs said, “We were the first to enrol black-and-yellow taxi drivers as partners and give them customers through our app.“Quadros said the unions' app “will be a one-stop solution to avail taxis at government-approved rates, with no extra cost for the app service (for up to Rs 50 on a trip)“. The charge will be Rs 5 for Rs 50-100 and Rs 10 for above Rs 100, a source said.Malay Kothari, whose firm developed the app, said, “We will be able to handle 20,000 cabbies in the first phase. All drivers on board will have background checks done; we will procure copies of their permits and also check their badges. The drivers will be trained on how to handle the app. Initially, payment will be by cash, but we will soon introduce online options.“