Taxi strike and street-blocking demo on Wednesday in Madrid
Taxi strike and street-blocking demo on Wednesday in Madrid
A TAXI strike and demonstration is planned for Wednesday in Madrid as drivers continue to wage war on cut-price car-pooling companies like Über and Cabify.
Unions representing the 70,000-plus cabbies operating in the capital say the industrial action will last for 24 hours.
Minimum services, for hospitals, airports, stations and general emergencies, will continue.
A huge demonstration will take place across the city, probably blocking several main streets, so travellers should plan in advance and arrange to use other forms of public transport where possible.
The main industry federation, FEDETAXI, together with the Plataforma Caracol ('Snail Association'), ANTAXI, Élite Taxi (AETM) and the Association TNT are expecting to get at least 20,000 drivers to join the protest crawl and most of the 70,000 to support the strike.
This latest protest has been sparked by a Supreme Court verdict ordering 80 permits to be granted to car-pooling or car-hire-with-driver services.
A national register of these firms will be drawn up and drivers will be required to use a blue number plate to identify them easily.
Über and Cabify have both expressed their 'satisfaction' with the verdict, saying it will be beneficial to the general public and increase their 'right to choose' between alternative modes of transport.
But FEDETAXI believes the court decision opens the door to as many as 10,000 permits being issued and multi-national companies 'flooding the market', putting taxi drivers' jobs at risk.
