Over 11,000 Romanian Transporters To Protest Before Govt Wednesday, Thursday

The protest will be attended by 1,500 buses and coaches, 600 cars belonging to driving schools and 10,000 taxis, which will line up on Kiseleff Boulevard in Bucharest, between the Antipa Museum and Piata Presei Libere.

COTAR union president Vasile Stefanescu said unauthorized transporters defraud the state budget of around EUR300 million every year. He added that Transports Ministry state secretary Eusebiu Pistru, Romanian Traffic Authority Iancu Craciunoiu and General Department for Road Transport director Sorin Sarbu make up an interest group backing unlicensed transport companies.

„Since May 15, 2009, we have been trying to make the Ministry aware of the fraud in the transport sector and the only reply we have received from Sorin Sarbu has been that we will be called in for discussions,” Stefanescu said in a press conference.

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Referring to the Transports Ministry press release last week, whereby COTAR was invited to a conference in Brasov on March 18-19, to be attended by officials of the Transports Ministry, Traffic Authority, Interior Ministry and Finance Ministry, Stefanescu said the union received no such invitation.

Transporter licenses are currently issued with three years validity and are due to expire in 2011.

„Initially, the license was granted for five years, then they reduced it to three years, and now Transports Ministry officials are asking small companies for signatures in order to cut it to two years. Our leasing contracts were made for three-four years,” Stefanescu explained.

COTAR represents all of the country’s taxi firms, 70% of driving schools, 70% of passenger transporters and 25% of cargo carriers.