the goan I network
PANAJI
Speaking out in favour of the taxi drivers in the state in the wake of the launch of the Goa Miles app, the Aam Admi Party on Saturday, along with two taxi drivers from Calangute, voiced their displeasure about how the app, as well as the rent-a-cab service was severely affecting the business of taxi drivers in the state.
The taxi drivers, Anthony D’Souza and Santosh Kolekar, expressed that the government was targeting taxi drivers from Calangute, as the shuttle service from the airport was only to Calangute.
“It’s as though tourists come to Goa and go straight to Calangute and no other place,” said Kolekar demanding the bus service be stopped.”
D’Souza, on the other hand, lamented that GTDC had refused to furnish information about the app that he had asked for under RTI.
“When peoples’ livelihoods are at stake, the file asked for under RTI should have been furnished immediately,” said D’Souza.
Explaining why it was wrong for the government to introduce services like app and rent-a-cab, D’Souza explained that while it was true that certain taxi drivers cheated customers, it wasn’t necessary to spoon-feed tourists.
“The government can’t give us employment, so we’re trying to stand on our own feet, through tourism. There is too much competition in the market. Some taxis charge Rs 900 to the airport when the official rate is Rs 1200,” he added.
Further, explaining that Goa was different from metros, he said, “Goa is not a metro, it is a different market. It is a tourist market.”
Convenor of AAP in Goa, Elvis Gomes, attributed most of the problems faced by taxi drivers to the lack of transport policy in the state that lead to a ‘free for all’ mentality.
“The rent-a-cab scheme, if introduced, will be the final nail in the coffin of taxi drivers,” he said.
“They are creating a situation where taxi drivers will become redundant, and all this is because we don’t have a proper transport policy in place,” said Gomes.
However, when asked, D’Souza admitted that there were taxi drivers who were renting their cabs already.
