[para_7k]

MODS - Please move to the appropriate forum/thread if posted incorrectly

We are a family of 3 - Myself, Wife and 3 year old Daughter on a vacation to Goa from Pune for 4 days last week. We stayed in a 3 star accommodation in Palolem which was terrible in its own right - but that is a story for another day.

What I want to talk about here is about our taxi ride from Palolem to MOPA airport which is about 100 kms. The post can be a bit long and I appreciate your patience. I will try to break it down as much as I can.

So here goes. I am not taking any names here as it is not my intention to put anyone in the spot or defame them. We booked through a travel agency by name Mr T. Mr T has various vendors and service providers according to regions within Goa and he assigned someone called Mr P. Mr P is not from Palolem as well, so he calls me and says he will arrange someone from Palolem called Mr D. Now, I call up Mr D and he acknowledges he will pick us up on time on 3rd Nov Sunday at 5.30 PM. All this was completed by Saturday 2nd Nov.

Now, I called up Mr D by 2.30 PM on Sunday 3rd Nov to remind him. He said he is not going to come but he is going to send someone else by name Mr A and shared his number. I called up Mr A who confirmed that he will pick us on time. We were ready and Mr A turned up on time and we left Palolem on time.

Mr A now started a conversation asking if we wanted to buy dry fruits. We politely declined. Then he went on to ask why we selected MOPA airport and not Dabolim. I honestly couldn't remember as the tickets were booked a few months back. After that, his tone changed a bit and he was like - "This is the time of peak traffic. Mr D took the money but conveniently sent me instead". After saying this, he started speeding and driving dangerously.

In India, I know this is not something abnormal, but this guy was exceeding all limits. I asked him to relax and slow down. His reply was "I need to drive back home the same distance". I again said, that is ok you can speed up while coming back, we have a kid so slow down. His reply again was "If I slow down, we would reach only by 1 AM". I couldn't talk after that as we were sceptical that he would throw us out in the middle of nowhere.

But our man, continued what he was doing in full glory. Tailgating all vehicles, sudden accelerations and sudden brakings, overtaking on curves, finding non existent gaps, not slowing down if the vehicle in front is braking and whatever stupid move you name it, he was doing it.

I am driving for 22 years and counting - I have driven extensively in India, USA and Australia. I have matured with time. I understand what driving is like. Whatever this guy was doing is not even close to what I would term as "driving".

The journey of about 2 hours and 30 minutes felt like 2 days. I was nearly in a Panic attack. To say that we were terrified and fearing our lives would be an understatement. For God's sakes, please do not consider whatever this guy did as a skill or experience. It's only a matter of pure luck and some good karma that we are safe and I am here at home writing this post.

The fact that he had ZERO consideration for any of our requests and had utter disregard for his life and our lives is inhuman at best and insanity and madness at worst. Whatever was going through in his mind is beyond any human's comprehension.

Oh, and the fare was not cheap. We paid 5600 INR for the trip in a rattling Toyota Etios which is very expensive compared to any other parts of India. What did we get in return ? A very close call with our guardian angels. Did we really deserve this after paying through our hand and mouth ? You be the judge.

Drivers like these ought to be educated and tested thoroughly before they are granted driving licenses. They are thriving only on the basis of luck. They do not know any principles of driving. Zero margin for error and Zero CAS - crash avoidance space. Not everyday will be the same.

If you have read this far, thank you. I am not seeking any sympathy here. I know as a matter of fact that NOTHING is going to change. People like Mr A will continue doing what they do and people like Mr P and Mr D will continue passing the buck and will take no accountability whatsoever.

If there is any of you, who is capable and influential enough to raise a voice, please do. We are are common people and tax payers. We end up bearing the brunt of everyone's selfishness. I really wish that another family does not fall into the hands of drivers like Mr A and go thorough the nightmare ride which we did.

If this Mr A was in this mindset from the beginning, why did he even accept to drive us ? My wife claims that he did all this because we refused to buy dry fruits and he lost some bucks there from the commission. I am not fully convinced. Would you go to the extent of endangering lives just because you don't get a few bucks from selling dry fruits ?

There are questions that remain unanswered and will continue to do so.

Peace

EDIT:
Sharing the details of the agency and the drivers

Agency: Tahaans Eco Travel
Social media link: https://www.instagram.com/taahans.ec...F3bzNoZWc3cWxt

1st Vendor: Prakash Parab, Pernem
2nd Vendor: Damodar Komarpant, Pawandeep Taxi Service, Palolem
https://southgoalife.in/blog/listing...p-cab-service/

3rd driver of the actual cab- Name Alex, Toyota Etios, GA 10T 0462, No idea of the agency or employer

I have not shared the mobile phone numbers just for the sake of privacy.

[bblost]

I was in Goa just a few days back. We were in our car, my extended family had a cab. The cab guy was punctual and polite.

At 2 or 3 places, I was supposed to follow this cab.

I rate myself as a decent driver. Been driving for many years. My car is really good. My family trusts my driving.

BUT, there was no way I could have ever been able to keep up with the driver.

The cab drivers of Goa are in a different league altogether.

Maybe its the narrow roads that criss cross like a maze that amplifies this feeling.

[NPV]

Firstly, I’m very glad to hear that you and your family are safe now after this ordeal.

Definitely a horrific experience, just reading about your experience is giving me the chills. The driver seems like a lunatic who doesn’t care for his passengers. We would just have to speculate what could have possibly triggered the behaviour, but I just hope and pray no one else gets this treatment.

Actually, in the larger interest of the community, it would be good if you could share the details of the agency/driver so that others don’t fall prey.

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by para_7k

What I want to talk about here is about our taxi ride from Palolem to MOPA airport which is about 100 kms.

Cabbies, 3-wheelers, 2-wheelers, delivery agents, buses, trucks, mini trucks - every driver/rider whose livelihood depends on the distance & number of trips he can make - is psychologically hard-pressed for time, and very strongly believes that driving rashly without heed to safety will make him reach his destination faster and therefore earn more money at the end of the day/month. It mostly does - until one day it doesn't! Even then, a crashed vehicle is not so much of a worry for him, since he doesn't own it - until he never returns home, in which case all worries are inherited by his family.

While I rarely choose to ride such public transport, I pray hard when I do, hoping this trip is not the one where this maniac won't reach his destination. It is absolutely useless to argue with these drivers and/or try to alter their driving pattern & behaviour. That said, I'd have loved to watch how he drove, in case you have video(s) to share.

A couple of weeks ago, I needed to ride an e-rickshaw for about 2km in Delhi. At one place, the e-rickshaw needed to take a U-turn and drop us on the other side of the road. Instead of going under a flyover and around, he chose to drive close to the median at 20 kmph, looking for a small gap in the median where he could turn around, as traffic whizzed by on our left at 70 kmph. Failing to find a cut, he took a quick U-turn, and proceeded to go down on the wrong side down an on-ramp while I was trying to tell my heart not to stop beating. Watch the video here: https://x.com/ReduceRoadRisks/status...kIT2vha7Q&s=19.

[electric_eel]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

While I rarely choose to ride such public transport, I pray hard when I do, hoping this trip is not the one where this maniac won't reach his destination. It is absolutely useless to argue with these drivers and/or try to alter their driving pattern & behaviour. That said, I'd have loved to watch how he drove, in case you have video(s) to share.

Reminded me of this old joke: A pious priest and a driver reached the gate of heaven/hell and god sent the priest to hell where as the driver to heaven. When the priest protested, god replied. When you pray no one prays but when he drives everyone prays.

[nicodash]

I have been using Gozo cabs for most outstation trips for a few years now. I have booked airport cabs through them 2-3 times so far and have always got a good car that arrives on time, with a good driver at very reasonable prices.

Out of 20-30 odd times that I have used Gozo, I have faced an issue only once, during Chhat Puja time in Patna when all cab services including them could not find any drivers.

Would highly recommend trying them out via their website, phone number or app.

[Axe77]

At the outset, very sorry to hear of your distressing experience. I can only imagine how terrifying this would have been specially with a small child with you and you are right - its difficult to confront such a person with the risk of being left stranded in the middle of nowhere. I would however have considered reporting him to a local airport cop and also taken the photo of the car and driver, after reaching the airport (but can understand if you just wanted to get on with your travel and put it behind you).

Coming to the larger issue at hand, I want to say Goa has really gone to the dogs in terms of the cabbie experience. (Not incorrect).

I can can make many other similar statements that are all true in some form or the other:
- Delhi / NCR road rage as well as traffic (in)discipline has gone crazy.
- B’lore road rage has become crazy.
- Mumbai autos / Eecos are absolutely unruly and reckless drivers.
- Wrong side driving in Mumbai / Pune etc is an unprecedented menace.

Any of these statements in a distinct context can ring true.

But at the heart of it the problem is really only one - our governance machinery has completely failed us.

As a people, I am inclined to say (based on what I observe) that we fundamentally have scant regard for rules and civic sense in general. Why is it that the same Indians are so rule compliant for most part in developed nations like Singapore, Europe and USA. They know the consequences are not palatable.

Absent an effective and unrelenting corruption free threat of widespread enforcement of such behaviour and offences, nothing is going to change. And we all know we neither have the political nor administrative services will or integrity to achieve that.

EDIT: Just re-reading my own post, my bad but didn’t intend to give this discussion a potentially political hue but was more on the general frustration of lack of adequate and strict enforcement of rules. Request replies, if any, not take this down a political discussion path.

[sagarpadaki]

I empathies with the OP on the ordeal. It must have been heart in the mouth moment for those 100 kms of the drive.

As long as we do not make the whole process of getting a driving license very strict and tedious, we will keep producing new generation of drivers who do not know the semantics of driving. Driving must be a privilege that needs to be earned, whether it is a cab driver or a private driver. The methodical way in which some of the European countries (Eg- Sweden) enforce driving license test has to be adopted in India. Only then we will see improvement in road manners.

[Vasuki]

Originally Posted by NPV

Firstly, I’m very glad to hear that you and your family are safe now after this ordeal.

Definitely a horrific experience, just reading about your experience is giving me the chills. The driver seems like a lunatic who doesn’t care for his passengers. We would just have to speculate what could have possibly triggered the behaviour, but I just hope and pray no one else gets this treatment.

Actually, in the larger interest of the community, it would be good if you could share the details of the agency/driver so that others don’t fall prey.

Originally Posted by para_7k

So here goes. I am not taking any names here as it is not my intention to put anyone in the spot or defame them. We booked through a travel agency by name Mr T. Mr T has various vendors and service providers according to regions within Goa and he assigned someone called Mr P. Mr P is not from Palolem as well, so he calls me and says he will arrange someone from Palolem called Mr D. Now, I call up Mr D and he acknowledges he will pick us up on time on 3rd Nov Sunday at 5.30 PM. All this was completed by Saturday 2nd Nov.

It was a very bad experience indeed. Goa's new airport is notorious for its last-mile connectivity. It is always recommended to use old Dabolim(Military) Airport. You could also try some apps like "Goa Miles," which is pretty good.

You should definetly mention the contact's name so that others can be warned about such individuals/agencies.

[para_7k]

Thank you everyone for your concerns and reply. It's not very convenient to multi quote on mobile so I am tagging each one of you.

@bblost/Imran - Thanks for sharing your perspective. I also created a reddit post on this same issue. Due to the Google data sharing or some reason, a lot of related posts now show up on my X and Google feeds. It looks like various things like overcharging, selling petrol on the streets and taxi mafia have been so Normalised in Goa. The footfall of foreign tourists is on a significant decline.

@NPV - Thank you for the concern sir. The travel agency people are very good, responsible and nice people and aren't directly at fault. It's their vendors who kept passing the buck I did send a strong feedback to them asking them to discontinue this vendor and they agreed. I can send you the details of other 3 parties over a DM if that would help.

@SST, We were so much in Panic that the last thing that occurred to us was to shoot a video. The moment we reached airport all we did was pick our bags and run towards the entrance without even looking back. I saw your video. The topic of e-rickshaw is a whole elephant in a room by itself. They are totally unregulated and supposedly do not have any standards. We rode them in Jaipur. You could very easily hail one and they're cheap. But safety is an absolute zero. It was always rush hour traffic so we weren't really frightened back then.

@sagar - Thank you for the concerns

@Axe77 - I do not want to get political here. But we missed our homework and took it for granted before leaving to Goa. Things operate very differently there. There are no delivery services like Swiggy, Zomato, Blinkit etc and no Cab services like OLA or Uber. Everything is driven by local groups. In Palolem and surrounding areas, Petrol pumps are only on highways but you can see every kirana store selling petrol in bottles. Anyone can rent any scooter by paying 400-500 for a day. Liquor is available just about anywhere and I have seen people riding scooters and cars with liquor bottles in one hand. Our hotel was equally bad. Almost everyone has a "chalta hai" or "take it or leave it" attitude.
But according to various stats, they're seeing a decline in tourists and are going to see a further decline.

@Vasuki - Thank you. I don't remember the exact reason for choosing MOPA airport. But it's indeed true that we missed to do a lot of homework.
As I mentioned above, the agency are genuinely good people and they're ready to disengage the vendor. I can share the other 3 parties over a DM.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by para_7k

@NPV - Thank you for the concern sir. The travel agency people are very good, responsible and nice people and aren't directly at fault. It's their vendors who kept passing the buck I did send a strong feedback to them asking them to discontinue this vendor and they agreed. I can send you the details of other 3 parties over a DM if that would help.

A DM to me or any other forum member is not going to be of much help. If you’ve used other social media channels to call out the Taxi operator, share that link in a post here or mention the details right here. The travel agency is also to blame here since they should be held accountable for engaging their vendors/sub contractors and they cannot now pass the buck to their vendors for their role in this horrifying ordeal that you underwent.

[AJ56]

It’s easier said than done but had I been in your shoes with my family, the minute the driver starts driving maniacally to the point you start fearing a crash, and repeatedly refuses to slow down. I’d tell him to take me back to my hotel, if he refuses call the cops, it ain’t worth sitting scared for 100 kms straight with family.

Sidenote: your first major red flag would’ve been the multiple drivers/contacts you were made to connect with and their subsequent cancellations. No respectable cab operator treats clients this way.

[para_7k]

As there are multiple posts asking for the details, I have the following details. Please let me know if that is ok to share.

1. Travel agency - Name, phone number and social media link
2. 1st Vendor - Pernem - Name, Phone number and email ID
3. 2nd Vendor - Palolem - Name, Agency name, Phone number and website
4. The bad driver - Name, phone number, Car registration number

If all the above can be shared in alignment with TBHP rules, I am glad to share in my next post.

[SideView]

Originally Posted by NPV

The travel agency is also to blame here since they should be held accountable for engaging their vendors/sub contractors and they cannot now pass the buck to their vendors for their role in this horrifying ordeal that you underwent.

Completely agree!

Originally Posted by para_7k

As there are multiple posts asking for the details, I have the following details. Please let me know if that is ok to share.

I dont think there is any rule against sharing feedback- positive or negative (just no advertising)

My humble opinion atleast the agency and vendor name should be shared so that others dont fall for the same trap.

Who knows how long they have been pulling this trick? How can we be really sure they have taken measures.

My sincere thanks that you have highlighted such a issue, so that people are aware of such red flags and can avoid falling for such tricks. (I would have fell for the same)

[level0regen]

There is a reason why there are no Ubers or Ola cabs in Goa.
I have been studying in Goa for the past 3 years and here's what I have realised:

Goa's taxi market is completely run by goons and their "private" taxis. They have not let any other taxi operator except GoaMiles. There's also no single rate for any set distance. If we do the calculations, their per kilometre rate is around 75 rupees per kilometre, which is crazy and ridiculous.

You can't complain about the taxi driver either, because most of them drive taxis that isn't even theirs.

These guys also start surcharging based on the time of the day. Early morning or late night rides cost about 20% more than the daytime, which by urban metropolitan city standards is ridiculous.