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Taxis To Drive Like Turtles
This week, drivers will need a
lot of patience as taxi drivers
have declared a week of "tortuguismo"
to protest the Ministerio de
Obras Público y Transportes (MOPT)
failure to curb "piratas" -
illegal taxis - and "el porteo"
- informal taxi services.
The tortuguismo or slow down is
expected all week, beginning
yesterday evening when a group
of taxi drivers slowed passage
on the Quepos - San José route.
Puntarenas, the Pacific Central,
Guanacaste , Limón and of
course, San José are areas that
will be affected. Taxi drivers
will stage protests in various
areas, blocking major routes to
and from the San José.
Local protests will block
traffic in many communities.
The area around the airport Juan
Santamaría will a good bet for a
slowdown, as well as major
arteries in San José, like Paseo
Colón and Avenida Segunda.
The protest is to pressure the
government that for once and for
all eliminate "porteadores" and
a heavy hand to sanction those
who provide illegal taxi
services.
Porteadores are organized
informal taxi services that
provide door-to-door service to
exclusive clients. The informal
taxi service has grown during
the last two years, providing a
personalized service to clients
who prefer to be picked up at
the door rather than flag a taxi
on the street.
Porteadores are also a main
source of taxi service in many
communities where official taxis
don't provide service.
Porteadores charge the same or
less as official taxis.
Pirate taxis on the other hand
are direct competition to
official taxis, picking up
customers on the street as would
an official taxi, but usually at
a lower rate.
Many "piratas" use red cars, the
colour of official taxis,
confusing customers who don't
pay attention to the proper
markings of an official taxi.
The Porteadores service is
legal, while "piratas" service
is not. And that is where the
problem lies.
Official taxis claim that many
pirate taxis mask themselves as
"porteadores" and want the
government to eliminate the "porteo",
along with the piratas.
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