Hi Everyone, We have got over 7200 signatures and submitted our petition to Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar with CC to Mr. Sudin Dhavlikar - Minister of transport, Mr. Manohar Azgaonkar - Minister of Tourism, Mr. Vijai Sardessai - Minister Town and Country Planning, Mr. Michael Lobo - MLA Calangute, H.E. Smt. Mridula Sinha - Governor of Goa, Secretary Transport, Director of Transport. The issue will be discussed in Goa Assembly on Wed, 10th May 2017 From the last update to petition under title "Requirements", here is the response we got for requirements: - Go all but open competition OLA/UBER with Local Goan drivers - Taxi App won't work - Saab who app nahi chalta hai - No point reinventing wheel – go with OLA/ UBER. Proven solution. Years to develop - Unnecessary expense and time wasted - Too complex - impossible to make an app Here is one of the top responses: "Seriously? An app like Uber takes years of development and is a huge effort. Something as basic as writing an algorithm for routing and matching taxis to passengers is a tough challenge for even the world's best development team. To see the feasibility of a GTSC app, you only have to see the fiasco that was the app made by the Mumbai taxi unions last year. My point is simple. On what legal basis can a legitimate business venture like Uber or Ola be banned in Goa? Will the govt ban franchise chain restaurants to protect local restaurants? Will the govt ban multiplex cinemas to protect older single screen cinemas? Will the govt ban supermarkets to protect corner grocery shops? How can the govt pass an order that protects a private Monopoly?" Here are some of the Questions on this issue from the information we received from news items: QUESTION 1 - DIGITAL TAXI METERS Transport Minister as per 30 Apr 2017 - Taxis in Goa will have to install dgital meters once the Amendment Bill Passes https://chronicler.in/taxis-goa-will-install-digital-meters-amendment-bill-passes/Goa/ - does it provide ability to order taxi using single click on smartphone - does it provide 24hr availability - does it provide Ride sharing - does it provide Safe tracking - does it provide rating for driver and passenger - does it provide gainful employment of locals - gives a chance to come up with same age old excuses that meters don’t work and collect cash. - There is a concern that as these digital meters are propreitory they will be expensive for maintenance and repair compared to other options. - Confirm Motor Vehicles Bill passed in Lok Sabha supports "digital meters" - Motor Vehicles Bill has these wordings "State governments will issue licenses to taxi aggregators as per central government guidelines" http://www.prsindia.org/billtrack/the-motor-vehicles-amendment-bill-2016-4366/ QUESTION 2 - GTDC TAXI APP GIDC Charman as per 28 Apr 2017 Ola And Uber Will Not Be Allowed, GTDC To Develop Its Own App For Taxi Service https://chronicler.in/ola-uber-will-not-allowed-gtdc-develop-app-taxi-service/Goa/ - When will this be completed - promised long time ago - Has the feasibility been done - What features are covered in this app - Who is developing the app - Who will manage the app in terms of customer service - What is the expenditure - Can OLA/UBER be allowed while this app is developed - Why do this when locals and Tourists are familiar with OLA/UBER QUESTION 3 - TAXI OWNERS ASSOCIALTION TAXI APP Calangute MLA as per 03 May 2017 CALANGUTE TAXI OWNER’S ASSOCIATION DO NOT WANT ENTRY OF OLA AND UBER IN GOA – MICHEAL LOBO ASSURED FULL SUPPORT AND SUGGESTED TO MAKE OWN APP https://www.goaprism.com/calangute-taxi-owners-association-entry-ola/ - Does the Taxi Association have the Capability - Will Taxi Association invest in it or will this be public liability - When will this app be competed - please refer taxi app fiasco of Mumbai Taxi - What about lost opportunity for public for delayed use of App - Can OLA/UBER be allowed while this app is developed QUESTION 4 - MONOPOLY Bombay High Court as per 24 Apr 2017 Cannot stop Uber cabs from plying, Bombay High Court tells taxi associations https://scroll.in/latest/835475/cannot-stop-uber-cabs-from-plying-bombay-high-court-tells-taxi-associations - On what legal basis can OLA /UBER be banned in GOA ? - Will the Government do the same for franchise chain restaurants to protect local restaurants ? Will the Government ban multiplex cinemas to protect older screens for e.g. National Theatre ? Will the Govt ban supermarkets to protect corner grocery shops ? - Can Government pass order to protect a private Monopoly ? ARTICLES/NEWS MEDIA ITEMS: Motor Vehicle Amendments Bill 2016 http://www.prsindia.org/billtrack/the-motor-vehicles-amendment-bill-2016-4366/ 05-May-2017 If taximen fall in line and get ‘apped’ and ‘metered’ they and Goa will win https://www.heraldgoa.in/Edit/Editorial/If-taximen-fall-in-line-and-get-%E2%80%98apped%E2%80%99-and-%E2%80%98metered%E2%80%99-they-and-Goa-will-win/114803.html 05-May-2017 Cabmen want ‘illegal’ outer state taxis stopped https://www.heraldgoa.in/Goa/Cabmen-want-%E2%80%98illegal%E2%80%99-outer-state-taxis-stopped-/114796.html 08 May 2017 WHAT IS OLA AND UBER? HOW THEIR ENTRY WILL AFFECT THE BUSINESS OF LOCAL TAXI DRIVERS AND OPERATORS IN GOA? https://www.goaprism.com/ola-uber-entry-affect-business-local-taxi-drivers-goa/ 09 May 2017 Citizens urge CM to permit app-based taxis https://www.heraldgoa.in/Goa/Citizens-urge-CM-to-permit-appbased-taxis/114969.html 09 May 2017 Crusaders for app-based cabs fail to meet CM http://englishnews.thegoan.net/story.php?id=32701 REQUIREMENTS: (for completeness although minor changes) ================================================= PHASE 1 - App for Yellow & Black Taxi only (to avoid delay. Rikshaw/Motorcycle/Tourist Taxi will be handled in subsequent phases) The Taxi App ideally should be able to do below based on OLA/UBER features currently available. This is a high level starter list, developer finally chosen will fine tune it. STAGE 1: CHOOSING THE TAXI: 1) 24 hr availability as a cloud based service 2) Smartphone based. (everything done automatically, no person involved) 3) Enter destination address with No of passengers - get estimated pricing. Option to drop pin on Maps. (+ book via SMS) 4) App matches rider with nearby taxi driver with good rating. Show Picture/ID 5) After matching App shows name /cell of driver and how long to reach rider. 6) Option to call driver cell directly with single click, without reentering number. 7) Option to share the Taxi. 8) After driver arrives, and rider gets into car the meter starts (app meter track by GPS) STAGE 2: THE TRIP: 1) GPS App calculates the best route based on current traffic using open source maps 2) Trip route visible to driver and passenger 3) Safe Tracking of taxi through central monitoring - save trip history STAGE 3: END OF TRIP: 1) Driver end trip when destination is reached 2) Digital receipt is created with Tax calculation and route shown 3) Passenger automatically gets charged - Payment by Cashless - PayTm or credit card 4) Rate the driver of trip experience, driver rates passenger - rating available for next customer STAGE 4: OTHER: 1) Every day (or week) paycheck is deposited to driver's account 2) Quarterly Paycheck to govt for taxes collected (adjust as needed) PHASE 2- Rikshaw & Motorcycle. Same app possibly with a percentage factor like for e.g. Rikshaw - 50% of taxi fare, Motorcycle - 30% of taxi fare. PHASE 3 - Tourist Taxi. This may need have its own calculation like hotel commissions and need to be considered if needed. =================================================