Drivers learn lesson, start own prepaid taxi service

Panaji: Painted in the conventional colours of a desi taxi, yellow and black, a 10-foot tall booth stands opposite Maruti temple at the Kadamba city bus stand. The highlight of this booth is the initiative by a bunch of taxi drivers whose intention is to give people a uniformly-priced taxi service.

Commuters, both domestic and tourists, will no longer have to indulge in endless negotiations with private cab and auto rickshaw drivers at the Kadamba city bus stand, Panaji. The Panjim Pavan yellow/black taxi association is gearing up to launch a pre-paid taxi service at the bus stand in an attempt to prevent naive passengers from getting swindled.

"Many people are under the impression that taxi drivers are out to cheat them but that is not always the case," said Krishna Uskaikar, president, Panjim pavan yellow/black taxi association, "Unlike the prices suggested by private cab drivers, our rates are standard. But just because private cabbies overcharge, our image gets tarnished. Setting up a booth for pre-paid service not only proves our integrity but also develops the commuter's faith in us."

In order to avail a taxi, commuters will have to follow a simple process of making the payment at the booth, following which they will be handed a ticket. The 14 taxis that are currently stationed at the bus stand will move one by one in queue system to serve its clients.

This initiative which is being funded by the taxi drivers of the Panjim Pavan yellow/black taxi association has received a green signal from the government to set up the booth. But, in order to start the service, permission from the RTO is still awaited. Members of the association have been taking baby steps to raise money for the initiative. Phone and electricity lines have been recently added to it. If the RTO approves, the service can start full swing by March.

Taxi driver Abdul Altaf, Betim, said, "There is no mode of transport in Goa after 10pm so we will have to work shift by shift to make the taxis available. This service will thus be open 24X7 for people's convenience."

But, getting everything in place can be a trial for the members. "We need to hire someone to stay at the counter at all times," adds Altaf, "Including the person's salary, phone and electricity bills and land rent, we will have to shell out approximately 22,000 a month for the booth. Every driver has therefore resolved to keep aside some amount of money from each ride for payment of these bills. This may bring financial problems for us later but we'll have to face it. After coming this far, it makes no sense to turn back."