The new tourism season has kicked off with revelry and pomp. Tourists arrived on the first charter flight from Novosibirsk, Russia, and were given a rousing welcome at the Manohar International Airport at Mopa with dance performances and floral greetings. Now picture this. Down South in Varca, a female tourist was forced to walk with her luggage, accompanied by her family, who were pulling their respective trolleys on the road. The reason: The GoaMiles taxi she booked was denied entry to her hotel, forcing her to walk around a kilometre to board the vehicle.
Last month, a woman at a starred hotel in Betalbatim, in a viral video, narrated how she was forced to cancel a cab booked through an app and was literally coerced into taking the local taxi at an exorbitant price. She spoke of her distress and how she was intimidated and threatened by the local taxi drivers when she tried to call the police.
The vexed taxi tangle in Goa stands as a glaring blemish on the State’s burgeoning tourism narrative. While Goa celebrates the arrival of the first charter flight, the underlying chaos in its taxi system continues to undermine the State’s image and economic prospects. We have been witnessing such shameful incidents for years now, as the State continues to cling to the symbolic Sanskrit slogan Atithi Devo Bhava—meaning "the guest is God", while failing to genuinely safeguard the rights of tourists. The reverence traditionally associated with visitors appears hollow when videos of chaos and turmoil emerge, exposing a stark disconnect between rhetoric and reality.
The recent protests and complaints about illegal aggregator operations like Gozo and Uber highlight the ongoing regulatory vacuum. Out-of-state aggregators are allegedly functioning without proper permissions, further destabilising the local taxi ecosystem and pushing traditional drivers to the brink. If the situation has to be resolved, the government must address core issues of regulating aggregators, curbing illegal operations, and fostering healthy competition. Running away from the situation will not help in the long run.
The government appears keen to project an image of a top-tier global destination, welcoming tourists with much grandeur and promising increased connectivity. However, beneath the celebratory veneer, unresolved ground realities threaten to damage Goa’s prospects. The girl in the Varca video literally mocks the taxi system in Goa while narrating her ordeal. Tourists arriving with high expectations but leaving with stories of taxi trouble is disgraceful. In a highly competitive market, such perceptions can be detrimental because the tourism industry’s reputation hinges on safety, reliability, and hospitality.
The taxi issue has been hanging loose for quite some time, and there is a glaring failure in resolving it. The question is whether the government is indeed genuinely serious on this count, or whether it has succumbed once again to lobbies. On August 22, the government scrapped the draft transport aggregator guidelines in favour of a new State Taxi Policy. Operators were told to form a 10-member committee to convey grievances. Over two weeks after Chief Minister Pramod Sawant promised consultations with the taxi operators’ association, not a stone has moved. The initial urgency shown by the government appears to have been lost.
Eventually, Goa’s success as a premier tourism destination largely depends on transportation. The State must immediately establish a fair regulatory environment that safeguards the rights of local drivers while embracing innovation and technology. Political leaders across the spectrum must look at the wider State issue rather than their vote-banks. The time for decisive action has come; otherwise, the charm of Goa may be overshadowed by its own unresolved taxi troubles.
