Goa Government announced that the taxi app business will start end of May. So what is the hurry in implementing Digital taxi meters for taxis ? That too subsidized at 90% from Goa Tax payers ? The decision to install meters is in conflict with App based taxis. Since liberation Goa taxis never had taxi meter, decision could have been delayed for 1/2 months until after Goa Taxi app which is just about to be launched. The court order for digital meter is from case that was filed many years ago. All over the world taxi meters have become redundant and taxis have changed to app based system. As per information received form experts, this decision announced by Dhavlikar is far more expensive, outdated and redundant system for the reasons mentioned below: 1. Every motor cab plying in the State of Goa shall be fitted with a fare meter of digital type with printer and Global Positioning System (GPS). To provide both these features at minimal cost as we can use the GPS system present in the smartphones of every driver and passenger to track the location and calculate the distance traveled by the vehicle. App based taxis used with smartphones makes the digital taxi meters redundant. With digital meters there is expenditure of several crores. @ Rs 5,000 X 20,000 Taxis = 10 Crores. 2. According to Subsection 8 of the Motor Vehicle Act 140, “The owner, driver, attendant of the motor cab or any other person who breaks or tampers in any way with the seal or marks placed on a fare meter, or who with an intent to deceive, tampers with the fare meter or the driving mechanism thereof, shall be deemed to have committed a breach of this rule and shall be liable for a penalty as specified in section 177 of the Act”. This means that the device can be tampered with. In the case of a meterless, app based meter system, there is no opportunity for tampering of the system as the system is not resident on the phone, but on global server that is secure and not accessible to the driver or passenger. 3. With digital meters the goonda taxi driver can take the rider on a much longer route and can lead to disputes and most importantly loss of goodwill from tourists that will impact tourism. 4. There are also periodic monthly charges for Digital Meter of Rs38 lakhs/month A) Price of Thermal Paper used in the digital meter for printing amounts to approximately 8.5 Lakhs per month( assuming each Taxi uses one reel per month, each reel costing Rs. 50 X 20,000 = Rs. 10 lakhs. The app based taxis use paperless technology saving this cost. B) Additional cost of network charges per month for every Taxi will amount to Rs140/month x 20,000 = Rs28 Lakhs. 5. The proposed digital meter system is limited to only 4 wheeler vehicles and cannot be installed on Motorcycles, so it does not provide single solution for both motorcycle and taxis. 6. The Digital taxi meter does not provide option to call the taxi from cell phone app which all the people and tourists are accustomed to. 7. The Digital Taxi meter system dates back to 2011 and is already obsolete around the world. Due to obsolete technology there will be high cost of maintenance of these digital taxi meters for this proprietary technology as we already warned before and this will ultimately be borne by Goa Tax payer. 8. There is a question of kickbacks from making such a large deal at tax payer's cost, when Goan public has not been able to use taxi and never will. Given that the Government approved taxi rate will be in the range of over Rs30 per km, Goans will never be able to afford the taxi. 9. Central Government has released Guidelines in the recent bill passed in Lok Sabha - Motor Vehicles Amendment Bill 2016 that State Governments will issue licenses to taxi aggregators which is the world class option, The Chief Minister has taken Goa backwards by even going against the MV amendment bill instead of using it to support the strategy. 10. With Digital Taxi Meters does not force payment into cashless system, but Ola Uber are built for Cashless systems with tax collected from every passenger. It is high time that shameless Goa Government informs the people about the Goan Taxi app and the Digital Taxi Meter scam. It must allow Goan public to register for the taxi app as we have suggested. If this does not work they must allow Ola Uber in the state. Even after spending all the money on subsidy, the taxi drivers are goondas after all, they will ask for return fare, refuse to go to destination, damage the meter, say that meter is not working, etc for something that is at the core of tourism industry which is the ONLY business supporting half of Goa's population. Goa's politicians are foolish enough to not leverage the voice of the Citizens of change group that is trying to put them on the right track. These crooks have failed even in the game of politics. Please share on WhatsApp (download frm): https://tinyurl.com/taxigoa4 Youtube Share link: https://youtu.be/07YBKsAg8ks 17 May 2018 Digital meters, speed governors within 3 months, says Dhavalikar https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/digital-meters-speed-governors-within-3-mnths-says-dhavalikar/articleshow/64197563.cms 17 May 2018 Taxi operators finally okay with digital meters http://www.navhindtimes.in/taxi-operators-finally-okay-with-digital-meters/ 10 Apr 2018 Goa govt to launch app-based taxi service by May-end https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/govt-to-launch-app-based-taxi-service-by-may-end/articleshow/63688231.cms