Limassol taxis strike

TAXIS in Limassol were out of action yesterday, as drivers staged a 24-hour strike to protest the licensing of eight rural taxis as urban cabs.

Three hundred and eighty taxi drivers switched off their meters after an emergency meeting of their local association decided on the action at a Monday night meeting.

The association’s president, Christos Panayiotou, said the eight taxis, which are licensed to operate in the rural town of Pareklisia, had been given licences to operate in Limassol just because the licensing department thought there should be more cabs in the city.

He added that Limassol taxi drivers had suffered huge losses over the past four years because of a decline in custom and because of never ending roadworks in the town.

The taxi drivers have sent a letter of protest to the licensing authority, and have said that if their demands are not met, further disruptive action will follow.

The 24-hour strike was a “warning”, Panayiotou told reporters.

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