Athens in traffic chaos: 48-hour taxi strike hits tourists!

Athens in traffic chaos: 48-hour taxi strike hits tourists!

Athen, Griechenland - Athens faces significant traffic problems, since around 14,000 taxi drivers have announced a 48-hour strike from Wednesday to Thursday. The protest is directed against the competition by Uber and against the current Ministry of Finance. The strikers plan large -scale Corsos to block central traffic axes, which will be a massive challenge, especially for tourists, since taxis will hardly be available during this time. This reports vienna.at .

The dissatisfaction of the taxi drivers has their roots in the special situation at Athener Airport, where Uber vehicles have been assigned special stops in the arrival area. As a result, traditional taxis have to wait long for passengers, while Uber drivers can specifically pick up the app. This unequal treatment increases the pressure on the taxi services and drives the drivers to take measures. Another central point of dispute is the state -defined fixed prices for trips between the city center and the airport: 40 euros during the day and 55 euros at night. The taxi union criticizes these prices as uneconomical under the given dense traffic conditions, such as "https://www.rnd.de/panorama/taxi-streik-in-athen-protest- against Class = "Source_2"> rnd.de explained.

background of the strike

Another background of the strike is the refusal of the alternating Minister of Transport Kostas Kyranaki to meet the representatives of the Athens taxi driver union SATA. Instead, Kyranakis is only in dialogue with the Poeita, a federation that SATA describes as "mild" in its approach. Critics also accuse the Ministry of endangering the professional practice of taxi drivers by deleting access to bus traces and the introduction of the so-called "Swedish model" in urban traffic. According to SATA, these developments have increased the feeling that their interests are not sufficiently represented, and the union calls for reforms to protect their rights and to combat illegal transport services, such as the Tovima reported.

In addition, the union has called for measures against non-taxed and unregulated driving service apps, as well as a clear legal separation between taxis and rental vehicles. Again and again the drivers emphasize that they defend their professional existence and are not willing to give up their workplace to alternative forms of transport. As part of their protests, the taxi drivers have also received reports that up to 10,000 German tourists in Athens and they will be particularly affected by the effects of the strike.

In response to the tense negotiations, SATA wrote a letter to Prime Minister Kyriako's Mittsotakis and asked for an urgent meeting. Further measures could follow because the union has announced that they will make additional announcements in the coming days.