Uber, Rapido eye Goa entry as drafts rules signal green

Ride-hailing platforms are preparing to enter Goa, a market they have long coveted but struggled to gain access to amid resistance from local taxi unions. Now, the state's newly released Transport Aggregator Guidelines, 2025, could change that.

- Sakshi Sadashiv

The draft guidelines, published last week by the Goa government, lay out a formal regulatory framework for app-based taxi and bike taxi operators. It includes licensing conditions, fare regulations, timelines for driver payments, and, crucially, mandates that the entire fare be paid directly to drivers, effectively banning platform commissions.

The move marks a decisive shift from informal control to structured regulation in one of India's most tourism-dependent states. As per media reports, Goa received 10 million visitors in 2024. The Economic Survey for 2024-2025, meanwhile, projected Goa's population for 2025 at approximately 1.596 million. This tourism volume dwarfs the local population, resulting in an incredibly high tourist-to-local ratio.