A banner reading “free taxi licenses” appeared on the night between Thursday 13th and Friday 14th June on the overpass at the Boccea Casalotti exit of the Grande Raccordo Anulare. There is no “signature” of the authors of the protest but the first thought goes to the substitutes driving taxis. Sources within the category neither confirm nor deny to RomaToday but underline: “at least someone thinks about it”.
Taxi licenses
The Municipality of Rome is preparing, by July, to publish the tender with which 1,000 paid licenses will be issued for taxis and 2,000 free of charge for NCCs. As for the former, ordinary ones will cost 73 thousand euros, while those for transport for people with reduced mobility will cost 58,400. Art, the transport regulatory authority, also gave its favorable opinion to Rome’s draft tender.
On June 20th, an advisory commission will meet in the Capitol in which trade representatives will also participate to discuss the new tariffs. It is easy to predict, however, that in the end there will also be talk of the announcement. Contested by many taxi drivers in the capital, who do not want new licences, and by substitute taxi drivers, the “invisibles” of non-scheduled public transport, the tender will have to overcome several obstacles (and protests) before being published.
Taxi driving substitutes
Substitute taxi drivers are drivers without a license who replace their colleagues in the event of holidays or illness. The category has been clamoring for some time now for licenses to be issued free of charge for them. In a recent hearing in the mobility commission, councilor Eugenio Patanè promised “particular attention for replacement drivers” who will have a “higher score depending on the years of replacement”. However, they too will have to pay for the license if they want to become full-fledged taxi drivers: “The economic burden can be an obstacle – acknowledged Patanè – we will also discuss with the Lazio Region for access to microcredit and to guarantee that part of the non-repayable interest is financed by the institutions” he said.
Unsustainable situation
For the substitutes, the Roman situation is now unsustainable. In recent days, the president of the Substitute Taxi Driving Committee, Paolo Macioci, had attacked the mayor of Rome, Roberto Gualtieri, in a note: “Instead of solving the problem of illegal driving which puts the entire city of Rome in a bad light, think to earn on the precarious workers of the sector, deciding to ask them 73,000 euros for a taxi licence, in view of the tender for the issue of the same, while it will issue 2,000 NCC authorizations free of charge which will perhaps end up in the hands of those who today operate illegally”.
