With Goa’s conventional taxi operators elevating issues concerning the draft transport pointers, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Friday stated cab aggregators like Ola and Uber wouldn’t come to the state and that each one stakeholders could be taken into confidence earlier than “resolving the problem”.
Chatting with the media after a gathering with Mandrem MLA Jit Arolkar and Calangute MLA Michael Lobo, Sawant stated, “On the taxi difficulty, Jit and Michael and others got here to satisfy me. Individuals mustn’t create confusion. These are the rules introduced out for aggregators. Ola and Uber will not be coming right here. Now we have to place a system in place. We’ll take everybody into confidence earlier than resolving the problem. All of the stakeholders — taxi house owners, hoteliers and MLAs — will probably be taken into confidence. Ola, Uber will not be coming.”
Final month, the Goa authorities revealed draft pointers — Goa Transport Aggregator Pointers, 2025 — outlining a regulatory framework for app-based taxi and bike taxi operators together with licensing charges, tariffs and incentives, to control app-based transport aggregators. Taxi unions throughout the state have threatened to stage protests, saying the transfer will pave the best way for entry of personal app-based taxi aggregators and threaten their livelihood.
The transport division has sought recommendations and objections, earlier than the rules are notified. Final Monday, a whole bunch of taxi operators queued outdoors the transport division workplace in Panaji and submitted their written objections to the draft pointers.
Mandrem MLA Jit Arolkar stated the taxi operators concern that their companies will shut down if personal app-based aggregators enter the state. “We had a gathering with the Chief Minister to debate these issues. A delegation of taxi operators was additionally current. The Chief Minister has assured that app-based aggregators from outdoors the state is not going to be allowed. However on the similar time, the system needs to be streamlined and digitised and the fares should be uniform for all,” stated Arolkar.
Michael Lobo, BJP MLA from Calangute, stated the taxi operators have demanded that these draft pointers be stored in abeyance. “It has been assured {that a} assembly of MLAs from constituencies within the coastal belt and all the opposite stakeholders will probably be referred to as earlier than a ultimate choice is taken on the rules,” Lobo stated.