THE URBAN Taxi Federation yesterday agreed to call off an indefinite strike over demands for an increase in taxi fares after the Communications Ministry pledged to discuss the issue with the Department of Transport today.
Speaking to the Cyprus Mail yesterday, Urban Taxi Federation president George Koronides said the strike had been called off until the issue was discussed.
“It doesn’t pay to work in this business any more,” he said.
“The Transport Department’s intention to issue 269 new professional taxi licences was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
“Our profession is at an all time low and the government and the Transport Department in particular have yet to increase taxi fares.”
Koronides said the cost of running and maintaining taxis had increased dramatically.
“The fuel has gone up 150 per cent, maintenance costs have gone up, insurance has gone up 60 per cent, when compared to rates in 2000 and nothing has been done on behalf of the government to re-adjust the fare based on prices in 2000,” Koronides said.
“And on top of that they want to issue new licences. They left us in a dead end and we don’t know what to do any more.”
Koronides said taxi drivers were asking for nothing more than for the government to find a way to raise fares in a way that would be beneficial to them and their customers.
“We are not asking the government to raise the fare on the exact amount that we are entitled to, because we don’t want to lose customers. Let’s face it, no one is going to want to take a taxi if he discovers the price went up from £1.25 to £4. We don’t want to send people away.”
Koronides warned stricter measures would be adopted should the government fail to satisfy their demands, but promised taxi drivers would behave in a professional and civilised manner.
“We will intensify our measures if the government fails to listen to us,” he said.
Koronides promised there would be no repeat of June’s episodes when taxi drivers attacked strike breakers; he apologised “for the actions of some people who didn’t even belong in the unions.”
“I can assure you that there will not be a repeat of June’s episodes. It is not our intention to cause any problems, we will strike in a civilised and professional manner.”
The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.
