TAXI drivers have rejected the Communications Minister’s proposal to raise some bus fares and put a cap on the number and frequency of night buses islandwide, saying that it falls short of their demands.
“Buses are taking away our livelihood,” taxi drivers’ union representative Kyriacos Moustakas said yesterday.
The Urban Taxi Drivers’ Federation (POAT) met with the minister on Wednesday to hear her proposed measures designed to allay their fears from the competition they face from public buses, especially in the Famagusta area where the bus service has become particularly well organised and widely used by tourists.
Communications Minister Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis told the Cyprus Mail yesterday that part of her proposals consisted of doubling the night bus fare from one euro to two euros, raising the one-off day ticket from two euros to three, and setting a cap on the number and frequency of night buses.
This is a major concession to taxi drivers who have demanded a reduction in buses’ frequency and increase in fares.
“We’re not going to touch most fares, the single use day fare, long term tickets including weekly and yearly,” Marcoullis said adding that “it is common practice in European countries for the night fare to double.”
Marcoullis added that there are currently ten different night routes in the Famagusta district “creating a problem” for taxi drivers in the Ayia Napa and Protaras areas and she has proposed instead a cap on their numbers.
“But we can’t downgrade public transport – it is a service to the people,” Marcoullis said.
Despite all these concessions, cabbies are not satisfied.
Moustakas told the Mail they wanted bus services to stop completely at 11pm, and fares to double at weekends and public holidays.
“We will accept nothing less than this,” he said.
Taxi drivers will be meeting the House’s communications committee next Thursday and depending how that discussion goes, they could once again take to the streets, Moustakas warned.
But he said they were happy with the ministry choosing to study the viability of their proposal to reduce the number of taxis in the Famagusta area.
With 265 taxis in the area, Moustakas has said there were fewer jobs to go round. Taxi drivers have proposed the government buy back permits from retiring cabbies and keep hold of them until prospects improve when they could then be sold to newcomers.
Marcoullis said they needed time to study the system see how they can improve it.
“We are happy with the ministry studying the taxi withdrawal scheme if they meet our demands,” Moustakas said.
