Transport in Goa

Goa’s main form of public transport largely consists of privately operated buses linking the major towns to rural areas. Government-run white-with-blue-and-red-stripes buses, maintained by a service called the Kadamba Transport Corporation, links both major routes (like the Panjim-Margao route) and also some of the more remote parts of the state and taluka headquarters. In large towns such as Panjim and Margao, intra-city buses serve its citizens. Public transport in Goa is not very efficient, and most buses stop plying on routes a little after dusk.

Residents depend heavily on their own transport, usually motorised two-wheelers. Goa has two National Highways passing through it. NH-17 runs along India’s west coast and links Goa to Bombay in the north and Mangalore to the south. NH-4A running across the state connects the capital Panjim to Belgaum in east, linking Goa to cities in the Deccan.

The NH-17A connects NH-17 to Mormugao Harbour from Cortalim, and the new NH-17B, once complete will be a four lane highway connecting Mormugao Harbour to NH-17 at another location, Verna, via Dabolim airport. Goa has a total of 224 km of National highway, 232 km of state highway and 815 km of district highway.

Hired forms of transport include unmetered taxis, and, in urban areas, auto rickshaws. A unique form of transport in Goa is the yellow-and-black two-wheeler Motorcycle taxi, operated by drivers who are locally called “pilots”. These vehicles transport a single pillion rider, at fares that are usually negotiated prior or after the journey.

In some places in Goa, there are river crossings which are serviced by the ferry boats, operated by the river navigation departments. Goa has two rail lines – one run by the South Central Railway and the other by the Konkan Railway.

The line run by the South Central Railway was built during the colonial era linking the port town of Vasco da Gama to Hubli in Karnataka and passing through Margaon. The line, earlier a metre gauge, was recently converted to broad gauge. The Konkan Railway line, which was built during the 1990s, runs parallel to the coast connecting Mumbai to the Malabar Coast.

Goa’s sole airport – the Dabolim Airport is a military airport, though civilian flights are permitted when the fields can be spared from military uses. In addition to regular flights, the airport handles a large number of chartered flights.

The Mormugao harbour near the city of Vasco handles mineral ore, petroleum, coal and international containers. Much of the shipments consist of minerals and ores from Goa’s hinterland. Panaji, which is situated on the banks of the Mandovi, also has a minor port, which used to handle passenger steamers between Goa and Mumbai till the late 1980s.