Several Hundred Independent Cab Drivers Protested In Bucharest Wednesday

Cab drivers also requested that they be included in the second labor category in the Labor Code, based on their professional licenses, and the setting up of a government committee to check the way licenses have been issued by the Bucharest mayoralty since 2005.

Viorel Radu, head of the Association Defending the Rights of Independent Cab Drivers, said the National Agency Regulating Tariffs for Community Services of Public Utilities issued an order in 2007, which set the cab fare per kilometer, adding however, that the agency’s data are not accurate. He stressed cab drivers’ calculations indicate fares of 2.6- 2.7 lei/km (EUR1=RON4.2478), but, he went on, the fare should be set at RON2/km, due to market constraints.

Cab drivers’ representatives said they would file a petition to the Government, on Wednesday, which will include all their demands. Also, the association plans to submit to the Interior Ministry a written statement against cab drivers who, although licensed to offer cab services in Ilfov county, near capital Bucharest, they also provide these services in the capital.

The association said over 5,000 cab drivers will protest next week and block traffic on Bucharest’s ring road unless their demands are met, adding they will even resort to higher European bodies in Brussels, if the case may be.