PANJIM: The State government will extend, by a month, the October 31 deadline for the installation of digital taxi meters, since it failed to break the ice with taxi owners on this issue.
According to transport department officials, the taxi meters will be implemented by November-end to mid-December this year once the draft rules to the Goa Motor Vehicle Act are notified.
The State transport department is also currently studying the existing digital meters so that people would be free to purchase the systems and install them.
“The government has already given the green signal for installation of digital taxi meters. Now, we are in the process of drafting new set of rules under the Goa Motor Vehicle Act making way for digital taxi meters with printers, as currently, the Act makes provision only for mechanical meters. Once these draft rules are notified, I think we are good to go ahead with the installation of digital meters for taxis by November-end to mid-December this year,” said an official from the Directorate of Transport
“Once the draft rules are notified, it will also not be possible for them to approach the courts against installation of the meters. Also it makes them compulsory for taxi drivers not only to install digital meters but also install Global Positioning System (GPS) to their vehicles,” the official further informed.
With tourist taxi operators not lowering their gamble against the transport department over meters, the Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG) had approached the High Court seeking direction to the Transport Department to implement its own notification on digital meters which has been kept in abeyance to which the transport department, which is one of the respondents in the case, had submitted to the court that its intention to keep the notification in abeyance was owing to the election code of conduct.
