I waited two
years for the government to take a call on the Regional Plan. Didn’t happen.
Our house-to-be built was dependent on it. We had to change our plans. The
architect had to redesign the whole thing, we had to resubmit several sets of
files to various departments and lagao
chuckkers again. The day one of the offices was sending an inspector to
‘the site’ (hate to call my little slice of planet by that name), the taxis
went on strike. Since the officials don’t have official transport available,
ever, tax-paying non-car-owning/driving creatures have to make arrangements for
a vehicle for every visit. I couldn’t get a taxi thanks to the strike and had
to make do with an autorickshaw whose driver kindly consented not to
overcharge. So-o nice of him to do me this favour. He didn’t/doesn’t have a
clue that he and his taxi-driving brethren and pilot-cousins are overcharging,
have been overcharging, had over-charged and will continue to do so unless
something drastic is done.
Not many
people believe that Goa has black and yellow cabs. No one who comes from
anywhere believes that we pay over a hundred rupees for a kilometre’s ride by
taxi. The most expensive public transport in the world? Perhaps. Definitely the
most expensive in India. In fact, all the time we have to pay for both ways, even
if we’re going only one way and at terribly high rates. The taxi chaps in the
meanwhile, get a customer to take back, so double-double money.
Why then do
they charge so much? The taxi driver-owners I spoke to gave me reasons like:
the Tourism Department agreed to these fares, we’re not charging anything
extra. Or it costs (them) Rs 180 to repair a puncture… how many punctures do
these guys get in year?
The taxi
people have an association, the bike-renters have another, the bus lobby is
strong enough to topple a government, the ‘pilots’ and auto-rickshaw chaps can
twist sarkari arms. I have no idea why metre is a bad word in Goa. Metres work
fine in Mumbai, Delhi, now even in Chennai.
The
auto-driver who helped me out on the strike day said, ‘… when the rent-a-bike
started, too, we had a problem.’ I wasn’t in Goa then, so know little about any
events that happened. ‘… but rent-a-bikes came to stay. Similarly, the new cabs
will come and we’ll all have to adjust. After all, I can’t stop others from
buying auto-rickshaws. If there are many of them on the road, my business
suffers. But can I do anything? It’s the same with taxis. More will come, life
will change.’
Stone throwing,
hurling abuses, stopping tourists, none of these things will get them any
sympathy from customers. They can pat each other on the back and wipe each
others’ tears, but when it comes to dhandha,
in the long run, it’s the customer whose needs will guide profit.
Goa has a long
way to go regarding customer service. A few ‘supermarkets’ have taken good
steps. One famous pharmacy in Panaji even has pharmaceutical counselling, a
remarkable step taken. Even fancy chemists attached to five-star hospitals seldom
take the trouble to provide this. Home delivery is rare except for white goods.
Bread, milk, fish are the main consumables that come to the doorstep.
Surprisingly, the fish-walas don’t include ‘cleaning/scaling/ cutting’ as part
of the deal as is done in Mumbai. Even in the markets, one has to buy the
product (fish) from a vendor and get it sliced, etc from another. The meat and
poultry sellers sell and service under the same roof.
In a little
side-shop on CHOGM road, in the last couple of months, peeled garlic and peas
have made their appearance. So far grated coconut, that can’t-do-without
ingredient of Goan food is still not available on the shelves. Coconut milk is
available in tetra-packs. As the change happens in other areas, so will it
happen in the realm of public transport. Sooner rather than later, the earlier
the owner-drivers of taxis/ autos/ buses realize it, the better. Otherwise, the
next morcha might be of customers (passengers) and that’ll be the largest
number the government has ever dealt with.
We’re living
through interesting times.
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