Team Herald
PANJIM: Amidst raging opposition to app-based taxi services in Goa, the Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC) backed online taxi service is open to the government inviting Ola and Uber firms into the State.
“GoaMiles is not against Ola and Uber taxi services. We support technology and if it enters the market, it would be healthy competition. It is however the discretion of the government to decide if Ola and Uber is needed,” said GoaMiles spokesperson Justin Nunes, while addressing a press conference in Panjim on Friday.
The 10-month-old GoaMiles cab service has been facing the heat across various tourist-centric locations in Goa.
Against this backdrop, the GoaMiles taxi drivers have demand that action and an investigation be initiated, against the leaders of taxi associations, who have been protesting in a rather violent manner against the functioning of the app-based taxi service in the State.
As the tussle between the local taxi operators and GoaMiles continues to take an ugly turn, the latter has charged the local taxis of doing Rs 6,700 crore unaccounted business and not paying the GST.
“These taxis associations/ unions and their leaders are afraid of losing their flock for better income opportunities and prefer to render services to tourists by allegedly looting and harassing them,” added Hemant Prabhu Chodnekar, a senior official at GoaMiles.
“We are very proud that our services and incomes are monitored. We pay our dues to the government by way of taxes. Probably the protesting taxi drivers are afraid of their income being exposed in their cash driven economy, which they extract through unreasonable and alleged extortion from visiting tourists. We demand that government investigate their income,” he added.
The GoaMiles taxi drivers have also warned the taxi associations to stop threatening the government while also assuring the Pramod Sawant-led government of complete support if the tourist taxi drivers resort to any strike. “We appeal to the government not to fall prey to the threats from a handful of disgruntled tourist taxi associations and unions and to clamp down on them with an iron hand,” the spokesperson said.
Since GoaMiles app was launched last year in August, there have been sixteen FIRs and eight non-cognisable cases have been registered against local cab drivers. The drivers attached to the app-taxi service have said that the entire ruckus created by the local taxi operators, has in turn helped the business of GoaMiles thrive.
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Scrap GoaMiles by June 10: Goa Taxi Association
PONDA: At a public meeting held in Ponda, the All Goa Taxi Association (AGTA) has decided to give the State government a deadline to scrap GoaMiles by June 10, failing which they plan to organise a strike.
Speaking to the media after the meeting which was attended by the Ponda Maruti Taxi Association, AGTA vice-president Baban Sawant said that the Goa Taxi Association has decided to go on strike if the GoaMiles taxi app is not withdrawn.
“We have given the government a deadline to scrap the GoaMiles App by Monday, June 10, failing which, we will launch a strike within 15 days,” he said, while adding that a meeting of all the association members would be held prior to the strike. Baban also refuted allegations of charging exorbitant rates. “We will meet all the MLAs and ministers for our demands and explain our side,” said Baban.
He added that the government is allowing outsiders to be looted through the GoaMiles taxi app business. He also said criticised the government for allowing the business of local Goans to be sacrificed. “Goans are in this business for the past seventy years and now even educated youth are in this business,” he added. He also complained that private and government servants are also running private taxis, which are eating into their business.
