With Goa’s traditional taxi operators raising concerns regarding the draft transport guidelines, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Friday said cab aggregators like Ola and Uber would not come to the state and that all stakeholders would be taken into confidence before “resolving the issue”.
Speaking to the media after a meeting with Mandrem MLA Jit Arolkar and Calangute MLA Michael Lobo, Sawant said, “On the taxi issue, Jit and Michael and others came to meet me. People should not create confusion. These are the guidelines brought out for aggregators. Ola and Uber are not coming here. We have to put a system in place. We will take everyone into confidence before resolving the issue. All the stakeholders — taxi owners, hoteliers and MLAs — will be taken into confidence. Ola, Uber are not coming.”
Last month, the Goa government published draft guidelines — Goa Transport Aggregator Guidelines, 2025 — outlining a regulatory framework for app-based taxi and bike taxi operators including licensing fees, tariffs and incentives, to regulate app-based transport aggregators. Taxi unions across the state have threatened to stage protests, saying the move will pave the way for entry of private app-based taxi aggregators and threaten their livelihood.
The transport department has sought suggestions and objections, before the guidelines are notified. Last Monday, hundreds of taxi operators queued outside the transport department office in Panaji and submitted their written objections to the draft guidelines.
Mandrem MLA Jit Arolkar said the taxi operators fear that their businesses will shut down if private app-based aggregators enter the state. “We had a meeting with the Chief Minister to discuss these concerns. A delegation of taxi operators was also present. The Chief Minister has assured that app-based aggregators from outside the state will not be allowed. But at the same time, the system has to be streamlined and digitised and the fares need to be uniform for all,” said Arolkar.
Michael Lobo, BJP MLA from Calangute, said the taxi operators have demanded that these draft guidelines be kept in abeyance. “It has been assured that a meeting of MLAs from constituencies in the coastal belt and all the other stakeholders will be called before a final decision is taken on the guidelines,” Lobo said.