Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar launches GTDC’s Taxi App ‘GOAMILES’

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[dropcap]P[/dropcap]anjim: Goa’s first and exclusive mobile app based taxi service GOAMILES has been launched by Chief Minister of Goa, Mr. Manohar Parrikar at the Secretariat Complex, Porvorim.
Present at the launch were Minister for Tourism, Mr. Manohar Ajgaonkar; Chairman of Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC), Mr. Nilesh Cabral; Chief Secretary of Goa, Mr. Dharmendra Sharma; Secretary for Tourism, Mr. Sheo Pratap Singh, Mr. Menino D’Souza, Director, Dept. of Tourism along with other dignitaries. The launch of GOAMILES will bring about a revolutionary change in travel in and around Goa for both tourists and locals and provide benefits to taxi drivers serving under the new initiative. GOAMILES will provide the convenience of booking a taxi immediately upon arrival in the state at reasonable, government approved rates. The GOAMILES app can be downloaded from Google Play Store and Apple Store.
Speaking at the launch, Mr. Parrikar said, “Goa can now take tourists for miles through the newapp based taxi service which will be affordable and give travelers a comfortable journey from the time they arrive till they leave. I congratulate Goa Tourism for launching this initiative and wish them a huge success.”
Adding to this, Mr. Ajgaonkar stated, “ The launch of theapp based taxi service in Goa will bring a revolutionary change in the transportation system for all stakeholders including taxi drivers, tourists and locals. I am confident that tourist taxi drivers across Goa will join this digital system so that Goa does not lag behind other states where such systems are working successfully.”
Talking about the advantages of this initiative, Mr. Cabral opined, “We have launched a public information campaign to reach out to one million people in Goa to create awareness aboutGOAMILES. We are anticipating a huge response from the general public who will download and use the app for tourism purposes and daily commute as well. This app based taxi service aims to boost the digital economy, enable ease of travel for tourists and give taxi drivers better income. This initiative offers not only a brand new customer experience, but also makes taxi fare payment easy and secure.” He further explained that the app is one of the most quickest and convenient systems being implemented for the first time making Goan taxi drivers partners in the digital system while giving amazing customer experience to tourists.
GOAMILES is managed by a local Goan company called FROTAMILES Pvt. Limited created as an SPV as per the requirements of the tendering process. This SPV is a subsidiary of the parent company PITASYS Software Pvt. Ltd. who were the successful bidders for GTDC’s app based taxi service. PITASYS Software Pvt. Ltd. is in the transport automation business for the last 7 years and has expertise in transport sector domains like mass transportation, fleet/taxi aggregation and employee transportation. Currently its registered passenger user base is more than 60,000.
With the launch of the new app based taxi service, tourists will find GOAMILES to be very convenient and time saving as it would enable them to book, monitor and pay all through a single mobile app. Tracking would also be made easy as passengers would be able to track the location of the ride in real time as well as past and current bookings. Emphasis has been given on safety, as driver and vehicle details are shared with the passengers before boarding. There is also an in-built “PANIC” button in the app to ensure that the safety of passengers isn’t compromised.
GOAMILES has made sure that this service also benefits the taxi drivers equally by not charging anything from their revenues, as against the popular trend elsewhere in India & world over. Taxi drivers will receive payment on a daily basis. The same mobile app can also be used for tax and insurance purposes and finding business nearest to the diver’s location thereby ensuring that every driver earns. Income report would be generated in the app itself. There will also be an equal distribution of business amongst local Goan drivers and they can earn more by serving more which will motivate them to work.
Do’s & Don’ts are set up for drivers which will be monitored by GTDC through random checks and balances physically & digitally. Reports to reprimand the defaulters would help in ensuring and maintaining high level of customer satisfaction.
Book a cab in just a few taps. Here’s how it works:
• Set your pickup location (E.g. Home, Office, Airport, Railway station, current location, etc.)
• Set your Drop Location (E.g. Home, Office, Airport, Railway station, to be dropped) etc
• See all available cabs/taxis near your location being displayed on the map
•Multiple ways to pay: Pay in cash or via multiple cashless options online like Debit card, Credit card, BHIM, UPI
• Pick the type of vehicle you want & tap ‘CONFIRM’
• You will be able to see the type of vehicle along with the rates for your easy selection and opt for the one best suited for you
• Get instant confirmation with trip details like Driver name, Vehicle number, Type of Vehicle. The OTP to be given to the driver in the app itself
• Track your cab in real time with Arrival time and Drop time when you give the OTP to your driver
• Invoices history can be seen immediately in “MY RIDES” after you finish your trip & previous trips would be stored below the current one
• Know Fares & Ride features: Check fares & various features of a ride category before booking
• Share: Share the ride details with your near & dear ones