Ratish Prabhugaonkar, an IT professional working in Margao, is happy to be living in Goa
and is more often than not, quite vocal about his love for the homeland. And
while on most occasions, Ratish proudly flaunts his Goan roots to his non Goan
friends, and the optimum quality of life that the state offers, there are some
rare moments like the ones he is facing currently, where he could do without the
‘Goan’ tag. The prolonged taxi issue in the state and the government’s
inability to allow private operators such as Ola and Uber to operate in Goa
have earned embarrassment for Goans and made Goa a laughing stock. The
convenience of app-based taxis is a luxury that a majority of the nation is
almost used to, thanks to its sheer convenience and fair pricing. But Goa is
yet to experience this luxury, well, because the taxi mafia still rules the
roost.
Ratish says, “We have become the butt of all jokes for our
friends from metro cities. During the course of any conversation about Goa, the
taxi issue is broached inevitably and made fun of. In my knowledge, never has
the government of any state, endured ridicule from bullies for this long. The
shame is ours.”
For the uninitiated, a few weeks ago, the private taxi operators
across the state went on a strike to oppose the installation of speed governors
made mandatory by Supreme Court. And just when it looked like this is the
closest that any government in Goa has come to put the taxi mafia on leash, the
government authorities bowed down to the demands of the taxi operators yet
again, thereby letting down all those who saw hope in witnessing a positive
change in the state of affairs.
Kirti Prabhu, a hair stylist from Mapusa, was also on the
receiving end of ridicule from her friends. Kirti says, “My friends from Mumbai
were recently in Goa. The flight fares were going cheap so they decided to make
a quick impromptu trip to see me. The funny bit was that they paid Rs 1500 for
their flight ticket and had to pay Rs 2000 for their taxi from airport to
Mapusa. How does one justify this?”
To support all those looking at Ola and Uber as a solution to
the issue, a few volunteers spread across the globe have been running a
Facebook page by the name of ‘The Taxi Revolution in Goa’. Mahesh Sardesai, an
active member of the group, who is also running a petition on change.org –
‘Chief Minister of Goa: Support Goa Taxi Revolution’, posted on the group, “Why
is the issue contentious? We all see a clear cut decision. We need taxi for
general public, after that you can talk about tourists. Taxi operators don’t
have a clue what is a taxi app. Even if they do manage to get one they will
conveniently switch it off like meters. Who is really qualified to take a
decision here in the interest of the general public? A delay will only mean
loss of time and money and that too feeding the organisation that is proven to
be threat to Goan society! (sic)” Another user by the name of Adolf Pinto Goa
said, “If Taxi drivers do not want to work like drivers who slog elsewhere, it
(is) because they and the politicians like Parrikar Bab, are part of the Goan
Taxi Mafia. Let Parrikar Bab, give them special pension, but Ola & Uber
must kick in soon. (sic)”
While
the proceedings in the real world may have been a disappointment, in the
virtual world on social media, the cheer for introduction of app-based taxi
services such as Ola and Uber has been louder than ever. We wonder what else it
will take to bring some discipline into the taxi system in Goa and make Goa a
better place for the locals and the tourists
