Taxi drivers set new protests to 10 October – publico

 
         

                 

                         
                     

                         

                 

 
 

The representative organizations of the taxi sector announced on Wednesday a new concentration in Lisbon on 10 October, to challenge the activity platforms like Uber and Cabify, who consider working illegally.

the President of the Portuguese Taxi Federation, Carlos Ramos, told the Lusa agency that the details of the protest, with the theme All to Lisbon , will still be hit by this entity and the National Association of Road Transporters in Passenger Cars (ANTRAL), but stressed that the concentration “can not be just another initiative, must have consequences.”

the official explained that initially the aim it was to perform the action until the end of September, but it was decided – also due to the “sensitivity” shown by the President, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa – give more reflection time to the government and public institutions, so that “someone good sense “can bring together stakeholders to discuss the issue and” not to impose solutions. “

” we heard several people say that it is illegal, but then nobody does anything. They are happening situations where cars occupy Uber taxi squares, for example. You have to stop the car, “he said, stressing that it is necessary to review the legislation on administrative offenses in these cases.

Still, Carlos Ramos said that the sector wants to discuss the regulation of platforms online , because also the taxi drivers have kind of services: “We are open to discuss to give legal body to the platforms.”

the Uber and Cabify are platforms online that allow ask passenger cars, with an application for smartphone that connects those who want to move the transport operators.

the installation in Portugal has been hotly contested by taxi drivers as in other countries, having already been recording situations of confrontation and aggression among professionals.

the taxi drivers, through their socio-professional associations, complain suffer from unfair competition because of the existing legal framework and that forces certain financial provisions and safety, for example, in order to exercise their activity. In April, thousands of taxi drivers protested in Lisbon, Oporto and Faro.