Last week the Goa bench of the Bombay High Court, acting on a public interest petition, ordered the state's transport department to crack down on drivers of taxis and auto-rickshaws who refuse to flag down the meters. The court also ordered the transport department to fine erring cabbies Rs 2000 and cancel their permits.

The transport department in an affidavit before the court informed that flagging down the meter by taxis andauto-rickshaws were not compulsory and cabbies and passengers could negotiate the fare. The government was subsequently ordered by Justices R K Bhatta and R M S Khandeparkar to suitably amend rules governing the issue of taxi and auto-rickshaw licenses to make it mandatory for cabbies to flag down their meters.

Implementation of the court's orders will however be a difficult task without the co-operation of passengers, say officials of the transport department. "People should complain about cabbies who overcharge," Director of Transport A T Kamat told The Indian Express. According to the tariffs prescribed by Goa's Regional Transport Office, the fare for the first km is Rs 8 and Rs 4 for every subsequent km, while the motorcycle cabbies may charge Rs 5 for the first km and Rs 2.50 for every subsequent km. Already the transport department's 40 inspectors have nabbed over 30 cabbies for over-charging the passengers.

Cabbies insist that the fare is absolutely low and does not cover their costs."Everybody has a scooter or a car and tourists hire their own bikes on a daily basis. We have to therefore charge more from the few passengers we get," says Pandurang Velip, an auto-rickshaw owner at Panaji's bus-stand. Adds Yellappa, a motorcycle `pilot' from Karnataka. "We get out customers only during the peak hours, otherwise we waste time playing cards here." According to Kamat, the cabbies are demanding a flat rate of Rs 8 per km, the highest in the country. "We are considering their demand," he said.

State town planners point out that a poor public transportation system and the high cost of auto-rickshaws and taxis has forced people to rely on expensive private transport. According to statistics every third person in Goa has a vehicle.