Taxi Strike Planned For Next Week Called Off
The planned taxi strike for next Tuesday was called off yesterday after representatives for the taxi drivers met with the ministra de Obras Públicas y Transportes (MOPT), Karla González.

The minister, during the meeting, committed herself to regulate the actitivies of the "porteo" - the informal taxi service - by issuing decrees in favour of the official taxis.

Edgar Castro, manager for the Coopetico and representanting the Consejo de Transporte Público (CTP) said that the minister's decisions will be made public int he coming days and the strike is definitely off, for now.

"One of the decrees expected is aimed at the control of the radios, epecially the frequencies used by the porteadores", said Castro.

As far as the taxi operators are concerned, the porteadores or informal taxis, are operating illegally and should be able to use radio frequencies to get calls as if they were a taxi.

The other decree important to the taxi drivers is the presence of a written contract between the porteadores and their customers. The taxi operators feel this is one way to control the porteadores from picking up customers on the street and enforce their complaints before the Autoridad Reguladora de los Servicios Públicos (Aresep) - regualting agency - which will then have no excuse to no sanction those who do not comply.

Taxi operators complain that many porteadores actually work as "piratas", offering the same services as taxis, picking up customers on the curb, and charging a lower fare, cutting into their business. Piratas have beeen a constant thorn in the side of taxi operators, as they do not have to meet the regulating requirements of established fares, insurance, cars less than 10 years old, etc.

In contrast to the piratas, the porteadores offer door-to-door service to their established clientele and do not compete for customers on the curb. However, taxi operators say that the majority of porteadores are really piratas, masking themselves under the "porteo" which is allowed.

"With a directive by the minister, possibly the traffic officials will begin to take away our radios, however, we will not idly stand by, and will refer our case to the courts where we will defend our rights", said Germán Lobo, of the Frente de Lucha por la Defensa de los Derechos de los Porteadores, the informal taxi association.