Shillong, Aug 12: Meghalaya is putting tourist safety and convenience into one app. The Department of Tourism on Tuesday held a pilot workshop at the State Convention Centre to outline the rollout of the upcoming Meghalaya Tourism Tourist Taxi Booking App, bringing together officials, tourism stakeholders and tourist taxi drivers to discuss how the platform will work on the ground.
Commissioner and Secretary of Tourism Smt. R.M. Kurbah, IAS, said the app is not meant to compete with the existing taxi ecosystem but to protect visitors from fraudulent practices and to give both tourists and drivers greater assurance. She described the platform as user-friendly, GPS-enabled and OTP-based, with strict monitoring safeguards for passengers and drivers, including vehicles under PRIME Meghalaya. The app will also be backed by the Meghalaya Tourism Helpline run jointly by the department and the Avenues team, and will involve coordination with police and traffic authorities as part of a broader push for collaboration through technology.
Deputy Director Philip F. Tariang said the initiative is the outcome of consultations that began in late 2024 with taxi associations and PRIME vehicle beneficiaries. The larger vision is to combine taxi booking with curated information on tourist destinations, with the full official launch to be held at a later stage. The workshop also included hands-on training for drivers and a live demonstration of the app by XLayer Technologies.
The department confirmed that Phase-I will begin with an initial group of 200 PRIME Vehicle Beneficiaries and other tourist taxi operators, focusing on long-distance tourist transport. Registration will be open to operators with valid permits, licences, insurance and other statutory clearances. While associations may assist with on-boarding, every driver and vehicle will be verified individually by the Transport Department and Meghalaya Police. The platform will have an administrative portal, a driver application and a customer booking interface, with ride requests sent directly to active drivers and payments made directly between customer and driver. No commission will be charged by the department during the initial phase.
Officials added that the app will be integrated with the state tourism helpline for customer support and grievance redressal, and that extending the service to tourist-oriented two-wheeler operators is being examined for future phases. Training and awareness programmes will precede the full-scale rollout, and a detailed incentive framework along with a stakeholder engagement strategy will be finalised separately.
Also present at the workshop were Dr. Hari Prasanth M.R., IPS, Superintendent of Police Traffic, East Khasi Hills, and E. Banlumlang Blah, President of the Tour Operators Association of Meghalaya, along with senior officials from allied departments.
