TAXI DRIVERS at Larnaca airport yesterday called off a planned 48-hour strike after receiving assurances by the government. The group had announced they would go ahead with their strike if the introduction of a bus service linking the island’s main towns to Larnaca airport adversely affected their business.
House Communications Committee Chairman Zacharias Koulias told representatives from the taxi drivers unions that if by the end of July it became clear that the new shuttle service had a negative influence on their turnover, the Committee would meet to discuss a plan of action to assist the them.
Representatives from the union said yesterday that they were willing to wait until July 30 when it became clear what effect the new service would have on their business before deciding what course of action to take.
Taxi driver unions had said that they would strike on July 18 and 19, five days into the operation of the new shuttle service.
“We have given a five-day deadline from the initiation of the service to see whether it has an effect on our business. If this is so, we will go forward with a 48-hour strike of our operations at Larnaca Airport on July 18 and 19,” a representative from the taxi companies said earlier in the day.
The Communications Ministry approved a tender from a private company to create a bus service every 30 minutes connecting Nicosia, Limassol, Paphos and Polis to the Larnaca terminal. The service will begin on Monday.
Minister Nicos Nicolaides reiterated yesterday that the decision to introduce the bus service was taken because of widespread demand for it from the public.
“Based on findings from a survey that we have undertaken, there is an overwhelming request from the people. Around 95 per cent of the public declared that they want this alternative route to Larnaca Airport and it was our duty to act on the will of the people,” he told reporters yesterday.
In a heated meeting on Thursday night between the implicated parties which saw the forced withdrawal of a taxi company owner who agreed with the government decision, taxi drivers had asked Nicolaides that the service run only every three hours.
The Communications Minister rejected this proposal, saying instead that the service will run in coordination with the flight arrivals and departures at Larnaca airport. During peak times it will operate every 30 minutes, while at other times it will function at hourly or 90-minute intervals.
Many tourists as well as regular travellers have repeatedly complained that such a service does not exist and they had no other option but to use a taxi.
According to the study commissioned by the Communications Ministry, three in five Cypriots travelling to and from the Larnaca terminal use a private vehicle, one in four people use their own car and park in the airport car park and another 15 per cent travel with their own car which they park in places outside the designated airport parking space, while only six per cent use a taxi to get to the airport.
It costs a Nicosia resident anything from €40-50 to take a taxi to Larnaca airport, while the new service will cost as much as 10 times less.
Buses from Nicosia will depart from the Filoxenia Hotel and will cost €5, with no additional cost for luggage.
The Larnaca – Limassol trip will cost €7 but the price of the Larnaca – Pafos and Larnaca – Polis trips has not been fixed yet.
