Misery for Taxi Drivers
http://www.roundtownnews.co.uk:80/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=16216&Itemid=9
Why are so many taxis sporting white banners across their back windscreens and what do they say?
‘Intrusismo + Tolerancia Politica = Miseria’ translates to ‘Intrusiveness and Political Tolerance equals misery.’ RTN spoke with several taxi drivers to understand what this campaign was all about and why it was necessary.
The grievance that many taxi drivers have is that they feel they are running a tax paying, legal business and that many restaurants, hotels and car hire companies are doing them out of trade.
They say that car hire companies are picking people up from the airport and that private cars are operating out of the airport doing ‘airport runs’ without legal papers and without paying tax. They are also upset that hotels and restaurants are helping the illegal trade and it is having a serious impact on the taxi business.
They feel that this situation is not being taken seriously by the authorities and are making their voices heard with the banners on their taxis. There has been talk of strike action but with an already slim trade, it seems unlikely that it will be of benefit to the drivers.
The taxis in the photo are from the Mogan region and each of the districts has different coloured roofs or characteristics. You will not find any black cabs but rather very well kept Mercedes! The drivers seem to spend any spare time, when they are not driving, polishing and cleaning their cars and you will notice they rarely stand around talking; they will always busy themselves keeping the taxi in pristine condition for the next fare.
Taxis in Mogan have green roofs and are only allowed to collect passengers from within the Mogan area. If you find that an empty taxi drives past and doesn’t stop, then it is probably because he is not licensed to collect fares from out of his district, although he is obviously allowed to journey into a different borough.
The Telde taxis which service the airport are white, whilst in San Bartolome de Tirajana, a taxi will have a red roof. The taxi will always have the region and car number on the door. You will find most taxi drivers very friendly and helpful, they can usually speak a few words of English as they are used to tourists and they will give you a receipt, if requested, as all fares are declared legally.
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