PANJIM: With many private bus operators owning tourists taxis, the All Goa Private Bus Owners Association (AGPBOA) on Sunday formed a taxi unit to take up their demands particularly the issue of fitment of digital meters for vehicles and inquiry against app-based taxi service.
Terence D’Souza and Sudip Tamhankar were elected as president and general secretary of the taxi unit of AGPBOA. Besides this, other office-bearers were also elected during the meeting held at Saibaba Temple hall, Kadamba Plateau, Chimbel.
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After the meeting, Tamhankar told media persons that about 150 bus operators are owning tourist taxis and they are now facing harassment by the Transport Department over the issue of fitment of digital meters for taxis. He demanded that the Transport Department should stop giving deadline to taxi operators to fit digital meters by July 24 or that their permits will be cancelled.
Tamhankar demanded that the government should initiate inquiry against the starting of app-based taxi service in the State as per the recommendations of the Goa Lokayukta. He said that Goa Lokayukta on July 12 recommended the government to institute an inquiry either by a retired High Court judge or district court judge into the starting of GoaMiles app-based taxi operations and to complete the inquiry within two months.
Tamhankar said that he and Kewal Mayenkar had filed a complaint before the Goa Lokayukta in April this year pointing out as many as 20 irregularities committed by the State government while granting permission to the app-based taxi service.
