Ready for a new round of protests

Taxi owners are once again on the warpath, headed for a new frontal collision with Infrastructure Minister Yannis Ragousis due to the forthcoming plan for the deregulation of their profession.

The government's intention is to present the new regulations before the forthcoming TIF and after they have been passed by the cabinet meeting expected to take place in the middle of this week. 

A SATA press conference is expected to take place today or tomorrow at the latest, where motorists are expected to show all their cards and declare their intentions and dynamics of their protests. 

"He promised that by August 20 we would have been informed about his proposals and that he would duly inform the parliamentary group as well. It's early September and there are plenty of leaks about the regulations and nobody knows anything", says Thimios Lymperopoulos, chairman of SATA, to protothema.gr, shooting poison arrows against the minister who, as he said, was quick to celebrate the CoE decision. 

"With this attitude, Ragousis is attempting to 'strike' at the bad-tempered side of our sector and rally his party. We will not do him such a favor". He adds that the population criteria are not a corporatist view of the industry, but are connected to the views of scientists and everyday citizens, and the avoidance of another burden for the city and the environment. 

The population criteria are indeed a great disagreement with the Infrastructure Minister, who reportedly intends not to adopt them for the definition of permits, excluding islands and provincial cities. 

The proposed regulations for the new taxi licenses provide that they cannot be transferred but will constitute a public asset, in order to crack down on the black market in transfers. In addition, fines will be imposed on those who have not paid their taxes and there will be special provisions for those who obtained licenses in recent years, allowing those who have already acquired one half of the permit to obtain the other for free. 

"The challenge lies in whether we put forward the general interest or the sector. We are determined not to yield to the demands of any spoiled guild", said Ragousis in a Sunday newspaper. 

The minister also stressed that the aim of the motorists concerning the population criteria is to stop the issuing of new licenses in Athens and Thessaloniki, and that in many foreign countries (Austria, Sweden, Ireland, etc.) there are no relevant criteria. 

However, owners are wondering what has changed as to what the minister had, said and especially as to what he signed a year ago. "In Act 3844, which incorporates EU Directive 123, Ragousis indicated the deregulated professions. He excluded urban transport, taxis, ambulances, etc. "What has changed since then?", Lymperopoulos wonders…