Team Herald
PANJIM: Taxi owners across the State are up in arms again and this time against the Goa Miles app of the Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC) and demanded an immediate ban on the app.
The taxi lobby has threatened to dislodge the State before the elections if their demand is not met within a week.
A delegation of taxi owners from North and South Goa met Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant along with Deputy Chief Minister Vijai Sardesai, Speaker Michael Lobo and Benaulim MLA Churchill Alemao.
Speaking to the media after the meeting, Lobo said “When Nilesh Cabral was the GTDC Chairman he brought the app and he did not think about Goans. Let us be very frank. All the taxis under the Goa Miles are by non-Goans, owners as well as drivers.”
He demanded that the Goa Miles app be initially put in abeyance and subsequently banned.
Taking up for the taxi owners, he said “There is a queue system in the hotel and the locals from the area are in the business. When the queue system is being implemented every taxi owner has a fair opportunity, but when the Goa Myles app based taxi comes to pick a customer, he takes away the livelihood of the person waiting the whole day in queue for his business. The choice cannot be in the hotel or a taxi stand. If the tourist is stranded on the beach or road, they can have an option but not when there is a system.”
Stating that the app-based taxi drivers become opportunists, he explained “If the app-based taxi has arrived to the beach with some guests from the airport, he now becomes an opportunist while going back to the airport as he would have to go empty. Whereas our taxis drop their customer at a destination and come back empty.”
Bappa Korgaonkar, representing the taxi lobby, threatened to dislodge the State if the demand was not accepted. He said “If the government does not ban the app based taxi within a week, then we will unitedly along with other oppressed sections in the State, dislodge the State. It is our warning to the Deputy Chief Minister Vijai Sardesai who speaks of Goem, Goenkar and Goenkarponn, to safeguard the interest of Goans else they will have to face the wrath.”
Responding to the allegations that the taxi in the State overcharges their customers, he said that the local taxi business is run as per the rate card issued and notified by the government. “So where is the question of looting and cheating?” he questioned.
He further said that with the taxi badge being not mandated any more, he said “The taxi badge was the identity of the taxi in the State. With that the Goan taxi owners are lost as outsiders are doing this business with them and we are deprived of genuine business opportunity.”
