‘Travel hostesses’ in top gear as Goa launches women cabs

PANJIM: Looking smart in their white uniforms and with white gloves, 10 trained women ‘travel hostesses’ powered the Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC) tourist cabs Thursday, making Goa the fist State to have women cabs. 

Coming from different financial background, the hostesses, besides being trained as guides, have also been trained in martial arts. “We are not only drivers but also tourist guides who are trained in self-defense, soft skills and first aid,” Shobha Joshi, a 50-year-old housewife and now financially independent woman driver told Herald ahead of the launch of ‘women taxi services’. 

Joshi, recalling the four months training by professionals in the field, claimed they are groomed in basic etiquette, personal hygiene and customer relations to ensure that the passengers, particularly tourists, leave Goa after a positive experience. 

Thrilled, the Goan hostesses – standing alongside the Toyota Etios yellow cabs with yellow registration plates -- posed with beaming smiles for press photographers. Reena Fernandes, a local who left her job abroad and had settled in Goa as a housewife before she decided to become a women cabbie, is excited over the concept. “I love driving. I always wished to drive cabs. I am now financially independent and this opportunity has raised my self-confidence,” she said. 

They symbolically drove their Toyota Etios cars a few meters, as Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar flagged off the event at Miramar Residency in the presence of Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar, GTDC Chairman Nilesh Cabral and other invitees. 

Parrikar advised the women to carry along with them pepper spray even though they are trained in self-defense. “This effort has ensured respectable employment opportunities to women and shown them a new direction…” Parrikar told media.

The women will compulsorily wear badges displaying their names. More women cabbies are expected to join in, as the government is contemplating on raising the number of air-conditioned women cabs. Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar told a section of the media that the fleet of vehicles may increase to 100 during the International Film Festival of India 2014 and Exposition of the sacred relics of St Francis Xavier starting from next month. 

“The tourists want public services of international standard, and this is an attempt to live up to their expectations. If required we may increase the fleet to 25 or 50 or even 100 vehicles during IFFI and the Exposition,” he said. Speaking after the launch, he commented that this initiative will not only boost tourist business in the State, but will also increase confidence among tourists to travel late hours. “We have tied up with related agencies like transport and police,” he added. 

Passengers, who will either be only women or family comprising at least one woman, will be charged as per the government rates. The vehicles fitted with GPS monitoring system with panic alerts, and electronic fare meters with digital receipt printing facility. 

BOX 

Other features

> Fare payment option through cash/card

> Portable fire extinguishers and first aid kit

> Monitoring of cab movement at all times by the central control room

> Prominent display of emergency contact numbers

> CCTV cameras likely to be installed in the cars in near future

BOX

Soon, meters in all taxis

PANJIM: Goa government has planned to introduce meters in all taxis on the lines with the recently launched women cab services. “We are planning to introduce meters… in the next one to two years, Goa should go for 100 percent metered-taxis to curb complaints and infamy. There are 95 percent good taxi operators, but because of the others, the entire clan is tainted,” Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said. 

He quickly went on to add that the taxi associations will be taken into confidence for installation of metres and the implementation will begin phase-wise. “It will be compulsory and a time period will be set… meters will be given at subsidized rates for a certain period,” he added. There has been enough controversy over variations in fares charged by different taxi drivers. 

The women cab services are fitted with meters, which will generate bills as per the rates decided by the government. “We decided to take this step forward to cater to women tourists and residents in the State.