PANAJI
Not withstanding the hue and cry by tourist taxi owners over the move to install digital fare meters and the GPS tracking device, the Transport Department went ahead and notified the scheme.
The department, however, said that taxi owners would get subsidy to the extent of 50 per cent of the cost of the digital meter or Rs 5,000 whichever is less.
Earlier this month, the department had issued a notification making it mandatory for taxi operators to install digital meters. Owners and operators had vehemently opposed the notification saying most of their vehicles already had meters. They had also objected the move to keep rent-a-cabs out of the scheme.
The scheme, 'Goa State Subsidy to the Existing Permit Holders for Fitment of Digital Fare Meters on Tourist Taxi Scheme, 2015' will provide assistance to already existing contract carriage permit holders with valid permits and clearance certificates of payment of passenger taxes and road taxes.
The State, currently, has over 12,000 tourist taxi vehicles with 2,000 of them registered under the all India permit.
Meanwhile, the North Goa Tourist Taxi Association (NGTTA), has refused to replace the meters. They along with the South Goa Tourist Taxi Union had decided to organise an indefinite all Goa strike but later called it off after the High Court posted the petition filed by the rent-a-cab Association for the first week of January.
