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Taxi Drivers Admit to Surcharge
A number of taxi drivers
interviewed by the Spanish daily
newspaper DIARIO EXTRA accept
that they charge between ¢5 and
¢10 colones more per kilometre
as reported by a study by the
Laboratorio de Metrología,
Normalización y Calidad de la
Universidad de Costa Rica (Labcal).
The Labacal report says that
taximeters or "marias" as they
are referred to in Costa Rica,
often charge ¢10 colones per
kilometre though the taxi did
not travel the distance.
The vehicular inspection
monopoly, Riteve SyC, ordered a
change in the parameters in the
way the "marias" calculate a
fare and of April 21 a group of
taxi drivers have been upset,
who prefer that the Aresep (the
government regulator of public
prices and services) and the CTP
order a reduction of the rates
rather than have to "buy" new
marias.
Luis Fernando Coto “Cotico”, of
the Taxistas Solidarios Ticos,
says that 80% of the marias can
be recalibrated to the new
parameters set out by Riteve.
For those marias that cannot be
changed, the drivers will be
forced to buy new equipment,
adding to their cost of
operations.
"It is not fair that taxi
drivers have to buy new marias
because of an error by Riteve,
since they have been accepting
the calibration for the past
three years of inspections and
now they notice it", said Edwin
Barboza of the CTP.
Barboza added that his group
will ask Labcal and the Unión
Nacional de Talleres
Importadores de Taxímetros, who
are against the Riteve position,
to clear up the matter
The taximeter importers assure
that Labcal is wrong, because
they measure a kilometre as
1.050 metres and not the 1.000
metres that make up a kilometre.
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