Thousands of Taxi Drivers Protest in Bucharest against Ride-sharing Companies

Momchil Rusev, BTA correspondent Martina Gancheva

Taxi drivers protesting against ride-sharing companies (BTA)

13.03.2024 13:37

(BTA)

Between 1,500 and 2,000 taxi drivers from all over Romania protested with their cars in front of the parliament building in Bucharest on Wednesday. They demand raising the upper age limit for taxis from 10 to 15 years, abolishing the dynamic pricing system for Uber and Bolt, and establishing equal taxes and fees for ride sharing service providers. The protesters chanted "Solidarity" and "Unite". Placards reading "We want the promised ordinance" are hung on most cars.

"We will not leave until the Government passes the 2019 emergency ordinance amending the law, which contains proposals we have put forward," said National Association of the Employers of Transport Operators in the Taxi Regime (ANPOTRT) spokesman Ioan Pugna.

Pugna stressed that he and his colleagues do not want the banning of this type of service, but fair competition. At 13:00 local (and Bulgarian time) he and a group of his colleagues will hold talks with with representatives of the Finance Ministry and the Transport Ministry.

The protesters are unanimous that if the emergency regulation is not adopted, taxi drivers in Romania will soon be extinct.

"The moment these private companies, without any control of tariffs, get a monopoly, the customer will have to pay them not RON 5, but RON 50 per course. And it will be like in Spain, where the municipality started begging the taxi drivers to go back and bought them electric cars. We will not end up in such situation. I promise you," argued Pugna.

On Monday, the Coalition for Digital Economy, which represents Uber, Bolt and Glovo, issued a statement to the media saying that the legislation proposed for public consultation would put an end to alternative transport and ride-sharing in Romania. "The planned amendment ignores technological advantages, transparency and the competitive environment and proposes transforming the ride-sharing sector into a mere copy of a taxi service," the organization said..

/MR/