Once a woman walks out of the comfort of
her home, the first thing on her mind is her safety. Whether travelling by bus,
as a pillion on alongside a motorcyclepilot or in the passenger seat of a
rickety rickshaw or a taxi, one has options when faced with selecting their
mode of transport. While most women don’t have the luxury of any personal space
in the buses while travelling to college or work, this mode of transport is
relatively safer on the off-chance that there may be inappropriate behavior
that one wishes to make a noise about.
With tourists getting smarter about
saving money on travel expenses, they too have learnt to hop on a bus instead
of spending on a short distance cab. The taxis are generally used as the mode
of transport for the ride to and from the airport and on late nights to travel
back to their hotel rooms. Most of the tourists for the season find Goa much
safer than other states of India and have no issues with the taxi services
besides it being expensive.
Ricardo Rotger from Spain has been a
regular visitor to Goa and has experiences of travelling in different modes of
transport in Goa besides the taxis. He says, “I have been coming to Goa for the
past 12 years. I don’t take taxis anymore. The rates have moved on from Rs 500
to Rs 1200 for the same journey which is very expensive. I haven’t experienced
any safety-based issues during my travels so far.”
While travelling alone, one has to be
cautious all the time not just against sexual predators. Louise Henning from
Britain has been following up on the news of the Uber Cab rape case and says,
“I have read about the stories but till now I have found taxis to be quite
safe. But this time, to be more cautious, I have asked a friend to arrange them
for me.”
