MARGAO: With the tourist season fast approaching, the conflict between Goa Miles taxi drivers and local taxi operators in the South district has intensified.
At the joint meeting of local taxi operators, Goa Miles officials, Benaulim MLA Venzy Viegas Cavelossim sarpanch Dixon Vaz and others with PI Therron D’Costa at the Colva Police Station on Saturday, the local cabbies expressed their frustration and accused the Goa Miles drivers of disrupting their business.
They claimed that Goa Miles drivers were making direct deals with tourists without prior bookings and parking their taxis on the roadside, thereby violating the rules.
Local taxi operators alleged that Goa Miles drivers were picking up and dropping tourists at hotels directly from the airport, even when bookings had ended. They claimed that this practice was negatively impacting their business.
Goa Miles officials claimed that they were not aware of the allegations against their drivers but promised to initiate action. They clarified that customers were being served according to app bookings.
PI D’Costa urged taxi drivers to resolve the issue through discussion rather than taking law into their own hands by blocking cars and assaulting drivers.
Dixon Vaz emphasized that the local taxi operators requested that their business should not be disturbed and called for a government-level solution to benefit both guests and locals.
“At the government level we must find a solution to the issue so that our guests and locals are benefited. Local taxi operators are expressing their anger because their business is getting affected due to the Goa Miles,” he claimed.
MLA Venzy Viegas suggested separate parameters for local taxis with their own stands. Roland Fernandes, a taxi owner, argued that Goa Miles drivers were not following proper procedure of dropping tourists at hotels from the airport, further affecting the local taxi operators’ business.
