Team Herald
PANJIM: With an airport that has been ten years in the making; the government has not managed to “streamline” inefficient taxi service, with ten odd days to go before the first commercial plane lands.
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The Chief Minister on December 21 said that there is a need to “streamline” taxi services, while the transport minister said that a meeting with taxi operators would happen post-Christmas, “either on 26 or 27”.
This begs the question, what are they doing on December 22, 23 and 24?
A combination of metered digital cabs and app-based taxi services, like any other international airport in the world, should have been in place months before the inauguration of the airport and trial runs undertaken after training the taxi drivers in the app-based service.
Currently, the app hasn’t been launched and not a single taxi owner has agreed to be a part of it. So the challenge is not to streamline, but to start, and there is just no time.
No one seems to be in a hurry or sees this as a crisis, certainly, no one in the cabinet.
Transport Minister Mauvin Godinho said, “The discussion would be held with taxi operators and other concerned stakeholders before placing the App proposal before cabinet. We would seek inputs from them and undertake necessary changes in the app,” Godinho said adding “we want to ensure that a very good app is put in place so that the taxi operators join it”.
He said that the public will have a choice of mode of transport at Mopa including yellow and black taxis.
By the way, flight operations from Mopa airport are set to commence on January 5, 2023, which is less than 14 days away.
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Dial 100 to register complaints against harassing taxi drivers
PANJIM: Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Wednesday reassured that the ‘dadagiri’ of taxi owners will not be tolerated and has urged the people and tourists to dial 100 or 112 to register complaints. CM has assured that police will lend support to the victims in such cases.
The CM held a review meeting of the Goa police. He said that the Deputy Superintendent of Police and Police inspectors have been asked to keep a watch on incidents wherein tourists are being harassed.
“We have seen that unnecessary ‘dadagiri’ is being done by taxi operators against tourists. We will not tolerate this. I urge the affected persons and tourists to dial 100 or 112 Goa police helpline. Our police will assist the victims,” Sawant said.
