11 August 2026 · 1 min read
Shared taxi service in Shillong: how it actually works
How shared taxis work in Shillong — where the stands are, what a seat costs, when cabs leave, and how to reserve one online instead of queueing.
A shared taxi in Shillong is not a smaller version of a private cab. It is a seat. You pay for your place, the driver fills the rest of the vehicle from the stand queue, and the cab leaves when it is full.
Where the stands are
Almost everything leaves from Police Bazar. For intercity runs to Guwahati there are cabs through the day; for sightseeing, departures are early — most fixed-departure day trips leave at 7:30 AM because the good light at Laitlum and the cloud at Cherrapunji are both gone by mid-morning.
Other pickup points that matter:
- Khyndai Lad — the same area as Police Bazar, often the same queue
- Mawiong and Lapalang — useful if you are staying north of the centre
- ISBT Shillong — for Guwahati runs
What a seat costs
A seat from Shillong to Guwahati runs roughly ₹700–₹900 depending on the vehicle. A Tata Sumo seat is cheapest, an Innova is dearest, and the fare is per seat regardless of where you sit — there is no front-seat premium at a properly run stand.
Sightseeing is priced per day rather than per kilometre. A Cherrapunji circuit is ₹1,200 per person, Dawki ₹1,500, Krang Suri ₹1,300.
The part that wastes your morning
At a physical stand you wait for the cab to fill. That can be twenty minutes or two hours, and nobody can tell you which. Reserving a seat online in advance removes that entirely — you know the vehicle, the departure and the fare before you leave your hotel.