Goa considering cutting down on registration of new cars

Transport Minister, Mauvin Godinho told reporters on Thursday that they are discussing reducing the number of registrations of new cars in Goa with the cabinet minister. The meeting between the transport minister and cabinet minister happened on Wednesday.

The main reason behind this is that the road infrastructure of Goa is already stressed and congested. This basically means less parking space and more traffic that people would have to face. The Goa government’s Economic Survey report of 2021-22 revealed that Goa has a population of around 16 lakh and there are 15.27 lakh registered vehicles.

Godinho said, “There was a suggestion yesterday when all the ministers met, not to give more permits for cars because there are too many cars on the road. There is no parking. They come and park in anybody’s neighbourhood, blocking people from coming out of their house. You see what is happening in and around the airport. They park all over, near the Joggers park, they can’t come out of their houses. This situation cannot be allowed beyond a certain point. I will be reviewing the whole thing”

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On average, 57,000 vehicles are registered in Goa with the state transport authorities every year. Most of these are two-wheelers, around 70.81 percent. Then there are cars, jeeps and taxis which count for the rest 22.77 percent.

Moreover, the number of two-wheeler accidents has increased because nowadays, tourists are renting bikes and scooters. They are not familiar with the roads and are dependent on the pillion to guide for the route.

The minister said, “As far as two-wheelers are concerned, they are another big problem. Rent-a(bike) is another big problem which is developing because they were just given without application of mind. I want to inform you that in the last eight months I have not cleared a single new licence and I am not going to clear. The tourists use these bikes, they do not know the roads. The person riding pillion guides the driver using GPS and there are accidents. There have been maximum fatalities. Do we want to call tourists and kill them on the roads with no steps being taken”

Parking issues in Goa

Goa is already facing issues with parking and with more new vehicles getting registered, this issue will only increase. Authorities are trying to sort the issue by fining. In April, the Regional Transport Office and Corporation of the City of Panaji fined several taxis that were occupying more than 100 parking spaces. The parking spaces are meant for the public and taxis are not allowed to park their vehicle.

“According to their licences, taxis owners are not allowed to park vehicles and operate their business from the city’s parking spaces which are meant for the public. Lots of people visit the city for work and have their businesses here. We told the taxi operators to park outside the city and enter when they receive a call,” said Monserrate

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