Team Herald
PANJIM: Even as the tussle between the State’s traditional tourist taxi service and GoaMiles operators continue, the government on Wednesday announced financial assistance to locals intending to join Goa’s first app-based cab service.
Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC) Chairman, Dayanand Sopte, said the scheme would be in addition to the loans provided by the Economic Development Corporation (EDC) towards the purchase of the vehicles.
“The service is aimed at promoting the tourism industry and therefore, GoaMiles operators should get the benefit from the government. The scheme will soon be implemented,” Sopte said.
“The scheme also aims at providing employment opportunities to the locals, who can buy a vehicle at a subsidised rate. Our scheme of giving subsidy, insurance, etc will be in addition to the one existing by EDC,” he added.
In the wake of the increasing protest against GoaMiles with few politicians backing the tourist taxi operators, Sopte said the high-level meeting with Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Monday took a firm decision to stand by the app-based initiative in the interest of Goa Tourism.
“We will not buckle down to any sort of pressure from vested interests nor will we bow down to their demands to scrap the app-based taxi service. I request the local taxi operators who have not joined the initiative to sign up with GoaMiles, to join us,” he added.
Sopte went on to accuse some taxi operators of levelling baseless allegations against GoaMiles ‘out of sheer ignorance and jealousy, as several of their former colleagues are doing extremely well after joining GoaMiles.’
Commissioned in August 2018, the taxi fleet under GoaMiles has risen from 55 vehicles in the first month to 1,400 cabs till date. “With 1,500 trips per month from August 2018, the trips touched around 14,000 in December 2018 and more than 20,000 trips per month till June 2019,” Sopte said emphasising that all the GoaMiles operators are Goans.
As far as tax collection is concerned, GoaMiles has paid more than Rs 70 lakh to the government in the form of various taxes.
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Cong calls for meeting with taxi unions opposing GoaMiles
PANJIM: Congress has organized a meeting with the taxi associations on Thursday in a bid to understand their opposition over the operations of the app-based taxi service GoaMiles. Leader of Opposition Chandrakant Kavalekar said that the opposition MLAs are ready to cooperate with the government to resolve the issue amicably. “Goa government needs to understand the issue in order to come out with solution on the growing unrest in the Goan taxi operators. Hence we will first understand all sides of the taxi issue. As Goan taxi operators are worried about their livelihood, it is our duty to hold talks with them. I have, therefore, invited office bearers of North and South Goa Taxi unions for discussions, wherein operators will highlight their grievances,” Kavalekar said in a press statement issued on Wednesday. The meeting, in the Conference Room of Office Chamber of Leader of Opposition at 4pm, will also be attended by all the Congress legislators.
