Ordeals that tourists living at starred resorts in the state face with local taxi operators is only another confirmation of the fact that Goa's cabbies are getting increasingly out of hand with each passing day.
It has become more the norm than the exception for local taxi drivers operating from stands in the vicinity of resorts to intercept guests travelling in cabs that are booked privately or online, threaten the drivers with dire consequences, and ensure that the staff of the resorts concerned refrain from intervening in the matter.
Many tourists, particularly domestic holidayers or Goan-origin visitors from other nations, have often said that they have every reason to believe that the taxi operators in the state are part of some kind of cartel system. Several of them have even reiterated that people should be free to hail their own taxis—as is the practice the world over—while expressing shock that in Goa, guests at resorts are forced to use only the cabbies stationed outside the property who go on to charge whatever they like.
There have been enough and more instances to confirm that such brutish behaviour by taxi drivers makes them a law unto themselves and a blot on Goa's fabled hospitality. While action by the authorities is seen in some cases, it is almost always seen that these interventions do very little to deter their mafioso behavior.
Across the length and breadth of the state, particularly outside starred resorts, local taxi drivers begin their 'invasion' by first stationing their cars in the vicinity of the property concerned, forming an association and setting up a shed for shelter. Soon enough, they begin to flex their might and threaten even the resorts' operators into submission. Social media platforms are rife with videos of taxi operators stopping app-based taxi drivers, forcing tourists to cancel their trips, and even of passengers being forced to get out of taxis they had booked privately.
With tourism in Goa already on the wane this year, thuggery by taxi drivers might just be the final nail in the stuttering sector's coffin. The government has attempted to bring this faction in line on several occasions by mandating that speed governors and fare meters be installed in each tourist taxi, and that they join cab aggregators or create their own such system. Most, if not all these interventions have hardly ever taken off, which only goes to show that the taxi mafia has the blessing and the backing of a section of the government itself thereby empowering it to continue being high-handed with impunity.
The Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG) has repeatedly said that such incidents, if they recur, would certainly lead to a loss of business for multiple stakeholders and would taint Goa's reputation as a tourist and wedding destination.
Meanwhile, when they are taken to task, most unruly taxi operators rely on a tried and tested method to deflect the focus from them: Whataboutery. They often tell the media that only taxi operators are given the mafia label despite operating legitimately. Another instance of their whataboutery is when they point to the alleged "double standards" where tourism establishments freely adjust their rates seasonally without criticism, while taxi operators face constant scrutiny.
While their points of view are acknowledged, what the taxi drivers fail to understand is that tourists are free to choose among any other amenities in the state —apart from taxi services—without the proverbial gun being held to their heads. For instance, if a resort hikes its tariffs from Rs 5,000 to Rs 25,000, guests are free to move to any other cheaper accommodation of their preference without the fear of the resort threatening them to continue staying on its property only. Similarly, if airfares to Goa skyrocket, travellers are free to change their mode of travel to either rail or road without being forced by the airlines to choose only their services. The sooner the taxi operators realise this, the better.
So, what is the government waiting for? It is binding on the authorities concerned to act swiftly and strongly if it is to control this widespread thuggery, or risk losing even the tourism industry due to unruly local taxi operators. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant recently said that the state will bring in reforms and that everyone would have to come on board aggregator apps, particularly those taxi drivers who are vexed by the renewal of taxi meters.