Taxi drivers in Goa have fuelled their own isolation

When the Goa government rolled out guidelines for cab aggregators, a backlash from local taxi drivers was expected, and it did come. But unexpectedly, the locals also revolted, not in support of the taxi drivers, but against them. This time, the taxi drivers stand truly alone.

For a change, taxi drivers in Goa are beginning to feel that they are fighting this battle with their backs against the wall because apart from the tourists, locals too have decided that they have had enough, and it is time the government allowed app-based taxi services in the State.

Taxi drivers — at least a majority of them, have been operating with a sense of entitlement. Apart from being expensive compared to their competitors, they have been indifferent and have been living a utopian dream that they can keep fooling everyone all the time.

Let’s overlook the past. The reality is that local taxis are expensive compared to the fares offered by app-based taxis and they have begun to believe that they are a law unto themselves, almost untouchable.

Now that the Department of Transport has rolled out the cab aggregator guidelines, the truth is hitting them hard, and with little support from the locals, melodrama is their next option, one which will not work because they did not know when to draw the boundaries of professionalism.

Compared to app-based taxis, and Goa Miles in particular, local taxis are too expensive for locals. For many, Goa Miles is not only reasonably priced but reliable. And, the shift is gaining pace.

For many, booking a trip with app-operated drivers is far more convenient than engaging local drivers and so the dependence on the latter is diminishing.

When taxi drivers protested the mandatory use of meters, some argued they were being overcharged for the devices. Despite the outcry, the mandate remained. Eventually, meters were installed, but by then, app-based operators had already entered the market, offering even lower fares.

Government officials maintain, at least in conversations with protesting taxi drivers, that the new guidelines are not intended to displace them. Instead, they argue that the goal is simply to establish a more structured and accountable system.

One begs to wonder what system. A simple case in point: when people in Anjuna and Vagator were fighting the menace of noise pollution that they had to endure day and night, in an out, every single day, some taxi drivers stood against them and Mogambo was one of them.

Mogambo and his group aligned themselves with the unit owners — mostly outsiders — who showed little regard for the well-being or rest of local residents. They supported those who, in effect, disrupted the peace and health of their own villages. Now, faced with the prospect of outsiders entering their own line of work, they’re raising alarms and calling for help.

The situation is so bad for the local taxi drivers that an electronic signature campaign has started asking people to vote for app-based taxis. Perhaps, this is the hard truth that taxi drivers need to be ready to now swallow.

There is a limit for everything and the local cabbies seem to have crossed all boundaries and their day of reckoning was bound to come. What is the way out? Promise change?

This is one promise that the local populace is not bound to accept because many have suffered for far too long. Whenever something went wrong, they were never ready to accept fault, and are still not.

The inability to see within, acknowledge and change has been the downfall of taxi drivers in Goa. App-based taxis are not going to be the end of the world, but the beginning of a new one if the cabbies are willing to admit that they did wrong and rectify.

It is time for local taxi drivers to reinvent themselves. They better learn that it’s never too late to start again. It's not too late to rebuild — starting with their own communities. The conversation about tourists can come later.