The dictionary defines the word ‘pilot’ as ‘a person whooperates the controls of an aircraft’ but once you are in Goa, it takes on anentirely different meaning. The friendly guy on his motorcycle taxi or thepilot, as he is known, is a unique element found only in Goa. It is the onlystate in India where motorcycles are licensed two wheeler taxis and can be identified by the yellow frontmudguard. They gather, along with taxis and the rare auto-rickshaws, atstrategic points all across the state and their advantage is that they are fastand can efficiently navigate through traffic quite so quickly.
Yeshwant Naik comes to his motorcycle taxi stand in Panjim,at 9.30 in the morning every day. Sitting on his Suzuki Max 100, Yeshwanteagerly waits for his prospective patrons who mostly commute within the city.While waiting for his customers, the company of fellow pilots allows for someroutine banter.
Born in 1957, Yeshwant Naik has been toiling as a motorcyclepilot for over 35 years. Hailing from Savoi-verem, he moved to Panjim forbetter job prospects. After a short stint at a hotel, Yeshwant zeroed down onworking as a motorcycle pilot. He was one of the key members of the group whosubmitted the petition to the then CM Dayanand Bandodkar for motorcycle taxisto be legalised in the state.
With the latest buzz in the state surrounding the use ofhelmets, Yeshwant and his fellow pilots hope for a better decision from thegovernment. Yeshwant adds” If the government makes it compulsory to wearhelmets for the rider and the pillion, we will have to sit at home as peopleare reluctant to wear helmets while riding pillion. However, wearing a helmetonly for the rider, although within the city, is acceptable.
According to Yeshwant, the future looks bleak with theownership of private vehicles increasing dramatically. He says “Apart from theforeigners and domestic tourists who find it novel and ask for motorcycletaxis, we don’t get many local customers. Most tourists now opt to rent bikeswith yellow number plates, thereby affecting our business directly. It isdifficult to pay the daily petrol bill, maintain the bike and sustain thefamily after earning approximately Rs. 250 everyday. This is one of the reasonswhy the younger generation don’t want to take up this profession. Almost allthe pilots in the state are over the age of 40.” While being a pilot does notseem like a lucrative career for today’s youth, perhaps it does not behove usto ignore them. They are after all a vital link in sustaining economic life inthe state.
