Taxi operators will now get free digital meters

MAPUSA
In a major policy decision which that give huge relief to aggrieved taxi operators in the State, the government on Wednesday has decided to provide digital taxi meters free of cost and made driving badge and 15-year domicile mandatory for all taxi drivers.

Accepting yet another demand of the taxi owners, the government has also decided to make digital meters compulsory for GoaMiles taxis.

“I had assured the taxi operators that all their problems will be resolved before Chaturthi. We have decided to provide digital meters with data free to the taxi operators. We have accepted all their demands and resolved their issues,” Sawant said, after attending a meeting of cabinet ministers and party officials at the BJP headquarters in Panaji.

Sawant said the taxi operators had requested that they should not be discriminated with the GoaMiles taxis and therefore the government has decided to install same digital meters in the app-based taxi aggregator too.

He said the government has brought uniformity among all taxi operators as even yellow and black taxi operators will have to fix the digital meters.

He further informed that there were complaints that “outsiders” were driving GoaMiles taxis and to overcome the problem the government has decided to make driving badge and 15-year residential certificate compulsory for all taxi drivers.

The CM has also said that notices issued to taxi operators will be withdrawn at the earliest and appropriate decision will be taken in cases where permits were cancelled.

Around 2,500 taxi operators in the State have so far installed the digital meters and another 600 have been booked.

“Earlier also, the government was providing free digital meters but with a condition that taxi operators pay 50 percent of the amount while fixing the meters and the government would reimburse it later. But since the taxi operators were facing financial crunch due to the pandemic, the CM has decided to give the meters free,” Transport Minister Mauvin Godinho said.

“We hope the taxi operators will remain sincere and won’t tamper with the meters,” he added.

The taxi operators have been opposing the installation of digital fare meters and the GPS tracking system. They had also demanded scrapping of app-based taxis in the State.