Staff Reporter
Panaji
Taxi hailing services through aggregator companies continue to be a distant dream for Goans with the state government yet to make progress on the Goa Transport Aggregator Guidelines, 2025, proposed by the transport department.
The guidelines were unveiled to taxi operators, industry associations and tourism stakeholders on March 19. Department officials on Tuesday said that the response from stakeholders was encouraging but “the government is undecided whether the guidelines should be adopted into a draft notification and has kept the matter under consideration.”
According to the department, even taxi operators are open to approving the guidelines since they ensure guaranteed returns. They explained that taxis in the state are presently booked at government-notified rates.
“Taxi owners are apprehensive that the aggregate company will squeeze them by giving them lower rates. The guidelines say that the aggregator shall guarantee the owner at least the fare prescribed by the state transport authority for every journey completed by the passenger. It protects the vehicle owner’s income. If the fare charged by the aggregator is the same as the government rate, taxi operators do not mind being part of an aggregator app,” said an official.
Hotels and tourism stakeholders in the state have been asking for app-based taxi booking services for a long time. They are upset that the electronic fare meter made compulsory for all taxis lies remains unused and tourists are charged arbitrarily.
The transport department’s framework for opening the state to app-based booking services covers licencing norms for aggregators, regulation of fare, incentives for taxi owners to be a part of app-booking service, and a grievance redressal mechanism for drivers.
The guidelines say that the aggregator companies must execute a valid, enforceable contract with the taxi operator for future dispute resolution. It says that the cost of a licence to an aggregator is Rs 5 lakh with another Rs 5 lakh as renewal fee.
Taxi operators cannot be prevented from on-boarding with multiple aggregators and must be provided a health insurance of Rs 10 lakh. The aggregator company cannot make any deductions from the fare received by a taxi operator and must ensure that all payments are settled by 11.59 pm. Passengers will be charged a minimum 3-km tariff for every journey booked on the aggregator app, says the guidelines.
