Taxi drivers to continue demonstration until agreement on passenger transport rules

Budapest, January 20 (MTI) – Budapest’s taxi drivers are open to holding talks with the municipality and the government on their demands but will continue their demonstration until the sides reach an agreement on new passenger transport rules that will apply equally to every player in the sector, an organiser of the demonstration said on Wednesday.

The drivers started to demonstrate on Monday morning, urging government action against car dispatcher Uber.

Zsolt Gelencser told a press conference that taxi drivers want the government to convene talks with the parties involved by Friday at the latest, with an agreement being reached by the end of next week. Gelencser said that if this demand is not met, taxi drivers will begin demonstrating throughout the country.

Gelencser said the drivers had asked Peter Juhasz, deputy leader of the opposition Egyutt party, to get Hungary’s political parties involved in the debate so that their cause can gain more support. He said taxi drivers want fairer competition in the passenger transport sector.

Juhasz said he did not want the matter to become one of party politics, adding that it should strictly be about ensuring fair competition on the market. He called it unacceptable that while taxi fares are regulated centrally, certain other market players can get away with changing their prices. Taxi drivers having to pass strict checks while other players do not is also unfair, he said.

Juhasz said imposing similar strict regulations on other players in the sector may not necessarily be the best solution. He said taxi drivers are ready to continue working under the same regulations but then expect them to apply to other players as well, and are also open to the loosening of transport rules. Juhasz said any new regulation will have to reflect the new market conditions.

Photo: MTI

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters