Govt’s effort for quick-fix solution continues to be in perennial mess
The tourism sector in Goa may have come of age right from the heady days of the hippie days in the 1970s to where it stands today, more than half a century later. What hasn’t and continues to be in a perennial mess is the bottom of the tourism pyramid “ taxi services “ so crucial to provide visitors the last mile connectivity to their hotels and for intra-State mobility.
Overcharging, coercing tourists to opt for specific taxi services and strongarm tactics deployed by local associations of taximen are some of the problems that have been plaguing this sector for decades and neither the government nor the various associations of taximen or the tourism trade body have been able to get their act together.
But over the last few years, efforts have been made by the government to step in and provide multiple options for travel within the State starting with the introduction of the GoaMiles app-based service with some hand-holding by the State-owned Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC), five years ago.
But with stiff resistance, sometimes using violent physical force, by the local taximen’s unions, the government came to realise that GoaMiles was unlikely to be the quick-fix solution it was looking for to resolve the taxi imbroglio. It therefore introduced yet another app-based service “ Goa Taxi App “ which runs as per the government notified rates, leading to multiple options available for the commuter, whether tourists or others.
For the last mile travel from the two airports, meanwhile, tourists and others have also been provided the option of availing the coach facilities provided by the Kadamba Transport Corporation Limited. These services, provide drops to-and-fro both the airports to the capital city of Panaji. The service introduced last year has been operating efficiently and has in a sense helped in cutting down the dependence, and therefore, the monopoly of taxi services.
Global app-based taxi aggregator brand Uber too provides a minimal service from the Manohar International Airport at Mopa, an option available only for a drop from the airport to hotels.
Training the taximen on etiquette
While Goa’s taxi driver-owner has often been cursed as the villain in this whole imbroglio, there have indeed been multiple accounts of tourists hailing them as Goa’s brand ambassadors. Several tourists, particularly foreigners, many of who are repeat visitors to the State, often have good to say about the taxi driver.
And, latching on to this potential, the government is hoping to put every registered taxi driver through a training programme to educate them on traffic rules and general etiquette “ how to behave and deal with passenger clients.
The State government has made it mandatory for taxi drivers and operators to undergo training to learn etiquette and hygiene apart from traffic rules and signals at the time of issue of permits and driver badges.
