‘What about Goanness?’: Goa taxi drivers resist govt proposal to bring in app-based cabs

While local drivers have opposed Pramod Sawant govt's draft guidelines, tourists have often complained about being overcharged by them, taxis not being available at all times & so on.

Representational image: Vehicles in traffic in North Goa | Photo: ANI

Mumbai: Even as the summer recedes and the rain sets in, Goa is on the boil with the state’s taxi drivers protesting against the Pramod Sawant-led government’s plan of opening up the market for private app-based taxi aggregators.

While Goan taxi owners cite several technical objections to the entry of private app-based aggregators, at the heart of the argument is one key insecurity that is being voiced across multiple sectors in the state.

The fear is that the move will threaten the “Goanness” of Goa’s private transport industry, hurt the livelihoods of local taxi owners and flood the market with drivers from outside the state.

“Goa’s taxi drivers are the state’s brand ambassadors. When tourists arrive, they first sit in the taxi from the airport. We are the first locals they interact with and we give them information on where to go, what to try, what to stay away from, etc,” Savio Valencio Goes, vice-president of North & South Goa Taxi Owners Association, told ThePrint.

The overall fear is that Goa is being taken over by non-Goans everywhere, whether it is the staff that works in the state’s hotels and resorts, or at restaurants and shacks.

“If all jobs are done by non-Goans, then what is the Goa that the tourists will experience?” asked Goes.

The Goa government last month published draft guidelines on enabling the entry of private app-based taxi aggregators in the state.

While taxi drivers in Goa have staunchly resisted the idea, tourists have often complained about Goa’s taxi drivers overcharging them, not being available at all times and so on.

This April, a video of a tourist slamming Goa’s cab drivers as “mafia” had gone viral on social media platforms, after which the taxi union leaders filed a police complaint objecting to the remark.

The state’s guidelines lay down a regulatory framework for private app-based taxi aggregators, listing the licensing fees, the tariffs, the kind of vehicles and drivers they can onboard, the fare to be received by the taxi owner, and so on.

The North & South Goa Taxi Owners Association has called upon all the 23,000-24,000 taxi drivers of the state to submit their objections to the draft rules.

The Goa government, meanwhile, has called upon private taxi drivers to join the two government-supported taxi aggregators that are already functional in Goa—Goa Miles and Goa Taxi app.

“We don’t mind joining them, but there is absolutely no transparency. And there are basic issues that come up in the functioning of app-based aggregators,” Goes said.

Speaking to reporters in Goa Monday, state transport minister Mauvin Godinho said: “This is just a draft notification. We will take all stakeholders in confidence. We are having consultations with different bodies of industry, the tourism sector, the common man. We have given everyone one month to take feedback. It is not that the guidelines are final.”

The many objections

The foremost concern of local taxi drivers over the new draft guidelines of the Goa government is that none of them was called as stakeholders in discussions that were held in the run up to the formation of the draft.

In the memorandum of objections that the drivers are submitting to the Goa transport department, they call themselves the “primary stakeholders of Goa’s transport business”.

“Our practical experience and insights into the local transport landscape are invaluable, and their omission has resulted in a document that appears to overlook the ground realities and welfare of existing operators,” the memorandum, seen by ThePrint, says.

It adds that large cab aggregator companies will have vast resources and aggressive market strategies. They fear that these companies could easily monopolise the transport sector and drive out local operators.

“This would lead to a significant loss of income and employment for Goan families,” the memorandum adds.

It further suggests that the role of aggregators should be limited to pick-up and drop facilities in Goa, and they should not be permitted to enter the area of tourism services. These include facilitating bookings for local sightseeing tours, transporting to and from events, spice plantation visits, cruise bookings and so on.

The memorandum also says that app-based services will not work in Goa because the state lacks the supporting infrastructure in many places. At several tourist spots, it states, there is inconsistent and poor cellular phone network. Tourists will have trouble finding a cab, and drivers too might be unwilling to ply to such destinations.

“Mandating a system heavily reliant on smartphone applications will disproportionately disadvantage both taxi operators and tourists in these areas,” the memorandum adds.

Finally, it says that the guidelines are not transparent regarding fare structure for aggregators. It asserts that the current fare structure for private taxis is also outdated and needs to be revised keeping in mind the increase in petrol and diesel prices.

Anand Naik, a taxi driver based in Vasco da Gama, told ThePrint that most Goans have their own cars and two-wheelers and don’t need taxis. It is the tourists who do.

“If the tourists start using aggregator services, what will happen to Goans like us who have been driving taxis for generations?” Naik asked.

He said that aggregator services may not be feasible in Goa as a lot of journeys are one way. Drivers would have to return to their main stand without a fare, he explained.

State’s guidelines for app-based aggregators

In 2018, the Goa government had launched the Goa Miles cab aggregator service in collaboration with a private company. In 2023, it also launched the Goa Taxi app that allows people to book cabs online to travel anywhere in the state.

Private taxi operators say that only a handful—about 2,000 to 3,000 taxi owners—have come on board these two platforms.

The new draft guidelines, published on 20 May this year, aim to smoothen the entry of private companies in the app-based transport aggregator business too.

The guidelines state that only companies which have obtained a valid licence from the Goa government can operate in the state. The aggregator should also either have a registered office in Goa or have a registered office somewhere in India, and a branch in Goa. The aggregator further has to ensure health insurance for drivers of not less than Rs 10 lakh with a 5 percent increase every year.

According to the guidelines, the aggregator has to ensure that the cab owner receives at least the fare that has been prescribed by the government and not make any deductions from it. Moreover, the fare has to be settled with the taxi owner within 72 hours. In case the aggregator fails to settle the dues within the prescribed time frame, the company will have to shell out 25 percent of the dues as penalty for every day of delay.

The guidelines also provide for a grievance redressal mechanism.

(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)