Goa CM Pramod Sawant says no entry for Ola, Uber cab services in state

Panaji: Following pressure from coastal belt MLAs, chief minister Pramod Sawant on Friday said that cab aggregators like Ola and Uber will not be allowed in Goa, even as state govt notified the draft Goa Transport Aggregator Guidelines, 2025, seeking objections and suggestions.
Tired of too many ads? go ad free now
Coastal belt MLAs said that state govt should keep the guidelines in abeyance and put a system in place for taxi operators.
The MLAs said that govt should establish a system for equal taxi fares.
Sawant said that all stakeholders will be taken into confidence before making any decision on cab aggregators. He held a meeting with coastal belt MLAs, including Michael Lobo, Jit Arolkar and taxi operators.
'There should be no confusion among the people as it is just a guideline for aggregators.
Ola and Uber will not come here. We will take all stakeholders, including hotels, taxis and MLAs, into confidence to put a system in place. We will resolve this issue. All should remain calm,' the CM said.
Arolkar said that the purpose of the meeting was to address the fear among taxi operators that cab aggregators like Ola and Uber will come to Goa. 'During the meeting, it was decided to have equal taxi fares across the state,' he said.
Lobo said, 'We have demanded that the guidelines should be kept in abeyance. We want taxi operators' issues to be addressed systematically. There should be no bargaining while hiring a taxi. Tourists should leave with good memories. Customers should know the exact rate. We want the taxi business to remain with locals only.'
Lobo said that locals should run the taxi business and there should be no external control over them.
Tired of too many ads? go ad free now
He said that taxi operators should not set fares arbitrarily, but they should be equal. 'All taxi operators will agree to this, and there will be another meeting to resolve the issue.'
Since govt invited objections and suggestions from the public regarding the taxi aggregator guidelines, taxi operators are meeting MLAs of each constituency and demanding their support to oppose the operation of taxi aggregators in the state.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Business Standard

34 minutes ago

• Business Standard

EV cost no longer a top concern as Uber drivers worry about charging access

When it comes to convincing millions of drivers to get behind the wheel of electric vehicles, Uber Technologies Inc. has good news and bad news. First, the positive: Prices are coming down to levels at which EV cost is no longer the top issue preventing drivers in the US and UK from going electric. This is a first in the four years Uber has been surveying drivers. The challenge will be tackling the new No. 1 concern — charging difficulties — especially for a company that depends on drivers who typically lack access to home charging. Just over a third of Uber's current EV drivers in the US have a dedicated home charger. The share is even lower in Europe, at 27 per cent in the UK and 13 per cent in the Netherlands. Uber does have an ace up its sleeve in mitigating this issue. Last year, the company hired Rebecca Tinucci, the former head of charging infrastructure at Tesla Inc., to oversee its electrification efforts. Nine months into the job, she's brokered a partnership the company expects will improve charging access for 55,000 drivers in London, Boston and Phoenix, and is rolling out a tool to help 40 cities decide on where to locate their next public plugs. 'We've got to get to work,' Tinucci said in an interview. 'As comfortable as I am in the charging space, I fully recognize how difficult it is to do charging well.' Uber is partnering with London, Boston and Phoenix as part of C40 Cities, a group affiliated with Michael Bloomberg, the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg News parent Bloomberg LP. In addition to contributing technical support, research and policy advocacy to those three cities, the company is launching what it calls an Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Estimator tool that will project future demand for EV charging from Uber drivers. The company is rolling out the service to cities covering almost 60 per cent of EV drivers on the Uber platform. The tool is more than just in Uber's self-interest. The name of the game for charging-station operators is driving high utilization. Drivers doing pickups and drop-offs around the clock are just the sort of customer operators are looking for. 'There's an incredible base of demand there that we at Uber should be able to rally in support of developing more infrastructure,' Tinucci said. Uber already has seen this play out. Three years ago, the company invested £5 million ($6.73 million) toward installing 700 EV chargers across north and east London. Its chargers in the borough of Newham are being used at more than twice the national average rate. 'The challenge at Tesla was kind of single-focused around Tesla vehicles,' Tinucci said of her previous role. 'What brought me to Uber was the potential for impact. We have the largest EV fleet in the world, and we're just getting started.'

Time of India

3 hours ago

• Time of India

Why the ride-hailing industry moved away from commission-based models

The ride-hailing industry has traditionally operated on commission-based models, where platforms take a percentage of each fare as revenue. However, this model has affected driver earnings, particularly for low-margin vehicles such as bikes and auto-rickshaws, resulting in dissatisfaction. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Rapido: Rival Rapido already follows a no-commission approach through its software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform. ET reported in February last year that it had expanded this model to autorickshaws after introducing Rapido Cabs as a commission-free service in December 2023. Rival Rapido already follows a no-commission approach through its software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform. ET reported in February last year that it had expanded this model to autorickshaws after introducing Rapido Cabs as a commission-free service in December 2023. Uber: Even the global ride-hailing giant was compelled to respond. In February, it reluctantly dropped commissions for its two- and three-wheeler categories in India, introducing a subscription-based option instead. Uber said it made the change to avoid being at a 'competitive disadvantage' amid the evolving landscape. Even the global ride-hailing giant was compelled to respond. In February, it reluctantly dropped commissions for its two- and three-wheeler categories in India, introducing a subscription-based option instead. Uber said it made the change to avoid being at a 'competitive disadvantage' amid the evolving landscape. Namma Yatri: Much of this disruption can be traced back to the launch of Namma Yatri in November 2022. Built in collaboration with Bengaluru's Auto Rickshaw Drivers' Union (ARDU), the open mobility platform gained traction for directly addressing concerns over the high commissions charged by major apps, and for offering drivers greater control. Recently, Ola rolled out a zero percent commission model across India , allowing its driver-partners across autos, bikes, and cabs to take home 100% of the fares they earn, without limits. With this move, Ola says it is the first company in India's ride-hailing space to fully eliminate ride-hailing sector has traditionally relied on commission-based models , where platforms deducted a portion of each fare as revenue. However, such deductions, especially for low-margin vehicles such as bikes and auto-rickshaws, hurt driver earnings and caused the trend towards zero commission has been gaining momentum, Ola is not the first to embrace driver unrest and fare-sensitive passengers have made commission-based models harder to sustain. As a result, ride-hailing platforms are now being pushed to adopt alternative revenue streams, such as subscriptions or advertising deals, to remain viable.

Time of India

5 hours ago

• Time of India

Ride-hailing firms to seek GST clarity from tax regulator

Ride-hailing platforms, including Ola , Uber , and Rapido , are set to make a fresh set of representations to the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) on the contentious issue of applicability of goods and services tax (GST) on services offered under the SaaS model. Under the SaaS model, platforms charge a fixed subscription fee to gig workers instead of a commission. Companies are expected to flag ambiguities arising from inconsistent tax treatment of the SaaS model following divergent rulings from the Karnataka Authority for Advance Ruling (AAR), said people in the know. They alleged that the Karnataka AAR 's decision is distorting competitive parity in the sector. While the Karnataka AAR allowed ONDC-affiliated Namma Yatri to operate without levying GST, it held that Uber and Rapido remain liable to pay the tax under the same model. Rapido operates the subscription model for its auto-rickshaw and four-wheeler ride-hailing offerings, while Uber has deployed this model for the three-wheeler ride-hailing. Ola Consumer, which started by deploying the subscription model for autorickshaws, earlier this month expanded it to four-wheeler taxi services as well. 'Some companies have taken a 'no-tax position' on the subscription model, and this creates inequality for tax-paying players who charge commission," said a senior executive at one of the ride-hailing firms . "The ride-hailing space is a price sensitive sector, and the fares offered to riders by those operating on the subscription model end up being significantly lower…this puts certain companies at a competitive disadvantage,' The move to launch subscription-based plans wherein platforms charge a fixed daily or weekly fee to driver partners on their platforms for an unlimited number of rides helps companies potentially bypass the 5% GST applicable on rides facilitated by them, people said. The 5% GST is applicable under Section 9 (5) of Central GST Act, which mandates ecommerce firms such as ride-hailing platforms, food-delivery companies, and online retailers to collect and pay tax on behalf of service providers listed on their apps. These include drivers, restaurants and e-marketplace sellers. Uber, Ola and Rapido did not respond to ET's queries. The fresh representations come in the backdrop of a recent Karnataka High Court order that asked CBIC to engage stakeholders and clarify its stand on the matter. On companies rolling out subscription model to bypass the 5% GST, tax experts said it could also lead to potential disputes between operators and tax authorities amid lack of clarity on whether a September 2023 advance tax ruling, which held that Namma Yatri need not collect and pay GST, would apply to other platforms as well. In July 2024, however, the Karnataka AAR ruled that Rapido was liable to pay GST for its cab services, and later in November issued a similar ruling saying Uber would also be liable to pay tax for services launched on the subscription model.