They are worried about proposed amendments to the Law on Road Transportation.
Taxi drivers from Zagreb, Split and Dubrovnik are holding a peaceful protest in front of the government building and the Parliament in Zagreb, due to proposed changes to the Law on Road Transportation which aim to liberalise the taxi market, reports net.hr on November 29, 2017.
Jozo Kovačević, chairman of the Radio Taxi Zagreb association, said that about a thousand people were expected to gather, adding that they will not block the streets, but will instead go to the St. Mark’s Square on foot.
“We have found out unofficially what kinds of changes are planned, and they do not go in the direction we think they should go. The existing law is good, and perhaps it should just be updated a bit. The proposed changes are beneficial to foreign companies, which would be rewarded after operating illegally in Croatia for more than two years,” said Kovačević.
Asked if he was talking about Uber, Kovačević said there were also others who were operating contrary to the laws. “We express our dissatisfaction and want to show that there are many of us. Previous spontaneous protests did not provoke a great deal of dissatisfaction among citizens, although there are those who are always ready to display their animosity towards us,” said Kovačević.
While the representatives of the Association of Taxi Companies at the Croatian Chamber of Trades and Crafts (HOK), Eko Taxi, Radio Taxi Zagreb, the Dubrovnik Car Transport Association, the Association for Promotion of Taxis – Radio Taxi Split and the VG Taxi Association are dissatisfied with the announced amendments to the Law, the Taxi Association of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK) and Cammeo Group have backed the proposed provisions of the new road transportation law.
According to the proposed changes, the taxi market would be further liberalized, citizens would be able to order transport services through apps, the number of license fees would no longer be restricted, and the price of services would be determined by the providers of services themselves, according to the Ministry of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure.
On 1 December, the proposed amendments will be sent to the public consultation process that will last a month. It is expected that the new legislation will be adopted before the next tourist season. The responsible ministry is aware of the reaction of the taxi drivers, which are angry because the new law would substantially change their way of doing business.
Translated from net.hr.
