Very soon the taxi booking in Goa will be on your fingertips. As per the available information from the sources in the department of tourism, the tourist will be able to book the taxis just at a click of a button on their smart phones. The department of tourism is in process of introducing the Smartphone app which will be developed by the private vendor under the CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) for free of cost. According the sources this app will make the travel in the state easier.
Making the travel experience in Goa smoother and smarter is the main aim of this new app but besides this the fleecing of the tourists by taxi operators also will be curbed after the launch of this informed the tourism department sources. The tourist will have more choices and will be able to hire the cab of his or her own choice by checking on his mobile app from any designated pick-up point. It will also provide him the details of the fare charges from point-to-point. The said app is also going to come with a built in panic button which can be used by the tourist in case of any emergencies, and the police will be able to trace the vehicles with the help of GPS.
The director of tourism Ameya Abhayankar told the media that the tourism department is developing two apps one will be meant for the user and other will be for the tourist taxi operators to maintain the transparency and enable smooth operation. One round of the meeting is already held with the taxi operators in the last week to discuss the introduction of aaps. “I’m hopeful of a breakthrough,” Abhyankar said.
According to the statistics provided by the department more than 30 lakh Domestic tourists and around 5 lakh international tourists visit Goa every year. Tourist taxi is the primary mode of mode of transport for most of the tourist visiting Goa. Although the decent number of tourist also use the public transport system. The image of the taxi operators have lowered due to few taxi operators in South Goa who resorted to overcharging and arrogant behavior with their customers and they also oppose the use of meter making the situation worst. Introduction of the app will be an attempt to restore their image. Once the app is introduced the taxi operators will have to download the app on their mobile and feed all data such as photo, names, contact numbers, license number, permit number, address and vehicle number into it and that will be made mandatory.
The department has also asked the taxi operators to give a list of places which tourist visits and around 5 to 10 common pickup points within the radius of their stands. This way when the tourist searches the taxi nearby to his location on the basis of information he feeds into the software the server will send the request to the nearest taxi to his location in the Q. The tourism director said that the demand by tourist taxi operators that a rate chart must be displayed at prominent tourist places will be fulfilled. “It is a legitimate demand,” he added.
Source: TNN
