Romanian Cab Drivers Cancel Protest To Keep It Apolitical

The association sent Bucharest city hall an official memo announcing it suspends the protest action set to take place Thursday and for which they had received mayoralty approval.

Bucharest city hall approved, April 7, the request for the taxi driver march and rally in Bucharest.

"In the past 48 hours, there has been political pressure on the association in Bucharest, as well as in other cities, regarding the upcoming electoral campaign. They wanted to turn our rally into an electoral launch pad for various candidates, especially in Bucharest, which would have been in complete contradiction with our protest," said Remus Nedelcu, president of the association.

He added that the cab drivers he represents would not have wanted to be “caught in the midst of a battle" that is not theirs and, out of respect for Bucharest citizens, decided to organize the protest after the local elections," Nedelcu said.

Some 120 taxi drivers gathered Tuesday in front of Bucharest City Hall, asking authorities to amend the Law regulating their activity so that the functioning licenses that were granted to taxi companies be given to independent taxi drivers.

End February, some 50 taxi drivers protested in front of the Bucharest mayoralty asking that lawmakers adopt an emergency ordinance to amend the Law regulating the activity of taxi drivers.

After a few days, protesters calmed down as the mayoralty forwarded a request on amending the Law with the Ministry of Interior.

Another protest took place in December 2007, and at the time mayor Adriean Videanu said that an option to grant more individual licenses would be to issue an emergency ordinance to amend the Law regulating the activity of taxi drivers.

The norms to apply Law no. 265/2007 entered into force on December 3, 2007 after being published in the Official Gazette.

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