Sad but inevitable.

Yellow taxis have long stopped being useful and have to fade into history sooner than later, multiple Calcuttans said on Wednesday.

Several factors — impolite drivers, refusals and the vehicle’s contribution to air pollution — have contributed to the downfall, they said.

The steep rise in fuel prices and surge in the popularity of app cabs have added momentum to the fall.

“I feel bad when I see the dwindling number of yellow taxis. But I cannot remember the last time I took one,” said Shatarup Ghosh, CPM youth leader and one of the speakers on a panel that discussed the “pressing challenges” faced by the yellow taxi at the Press Club on Wednesday.

What Ghosh said mirrored what most Calcuttans feel.

Actor Debapratim Dasgupta said he was not lamenting the “imminent end” of yellow taxis.

“The drivers have been impolite for a very long time. They refuse people at will, even in broad daylight. I, for one, am not sorry,” he said.

On Tuesday, the Joint Forum of Taxi Association said it would write to the transport department to ensure that any car less than 15 years old could be turned commercial, painted yellow and operated as a taxi.

That will allow private cars of any make to switch to commercial registration and ply as yellow taxis in Calcutta, as long as they are less than 15 years old. There should be a similar provision for commercial vehicles, too, the owners said.

Senior officials in the transport department said there are close to 7,500 yellow taxis, of which around 4,500 are likely to go by the end of the year in compliance with the 15-year rule. The rest will take the axe gradually. Calcutta High Court had in 2008 ordered that no commercial vehicle more than 15 years old can operate in Calcutta.

The Wednesday panel discussion had divergent voices.

“The yellow taxi is now a prop in film shoots. It is unfortunate. A plan to preserve the heritage should have been in the works right after the 2008 court order. But the government and we have failed the yellow taxi,” said Anubhab Maiti, a student and a social media influencer.

The panel also included Jayanta Narayan Chatterjee, senior advocate, Jharna Bhattacharjee, poet and elocutionist, Santi Das, IPS, Soumyajit Mahapatra, communications consultant, and actor-singer Sujoy Rudra.