2023-11-21 15:50:00
In Cartagena, conflicts continue between taxi drivers and private car drivers who provide services through the Indrive and Uber platforms, a problem that reveals the tensions between these unions.
Clashes have become a persistent problem that affects both drivers and passengers, and are often related to unequal competition and differences in regulation, triggering strong fights in the Historic Center. Read also: Unusual: Woman ended up with fish embedded in her arm, in Bocagrande
On the one hand there are private drivers or drivers from platforms such as Indrive or Uber, who argue that they offer a cheaper alternative and that they are helping to modernize the transportation system; on the other, the taxi drivers, who have repeatedly expressed that they cannot tolerate another increase in the price of gasoline.
Recently, members of the city’s taxi union have exposed on social networks and radio stations the alleged threats and attacks they have received in the Historic Center and other sectors of Cartagena. Alterations that have become public and have already taken legal action.
“Everyone has the right to search, but it is not fair that this war between taxi drivers and individuals reaches these extremes. They are against the organization of the Parque Centenario night station, under the Banco Popular. They are threatening us, they are taking our passengers from our face. Tourists come to the Center here and there are constant fights and arguments, especially when they start pulling out machetes in order not to lose a race,” Hugo Armando Pérez, a taxi driver in the city, told El Universal.
And he added: “They are informal, they have nothing to lose, but we who have an organization and quotas to meet if they harm us. I was the first to file a complaint with the Prosecutor’s Office, my car was scratched, I had to move house twice, and I have colleagues whose tires have been punctured. We have evidence of fights that break out at night. As such we do not seek to fight over who is right or wrong, much less generate controversy, what we want is for the authorities to act and put control over this situation.” Read also: The rise in the price of ACPM is still standing and alerts transporters in Cartagena
Below are the shared videos:
One of the main points of conflict is the perception that private drivers who use shared transport platforms, such as Uber and Didi, operate in a kind of “gray zone” in terms of regulation, while taxi drivers must comply with a series of requirements and regulations to operate legally in the city. Some argue that drivers on these apps are not subject to the same restrictions and this has led to accusations of unfair competition by taxi drivers.
They arrive in numbers of ten or more, two weeks ago two vehicles chased me and closed the road. Fortunately there was a police operation, because they made it clear that they were going to give me a machete.”
Hugo Perez
Aren’t even the agents saved?
In the midst of these conflicts, the authorities in Cartagena have tried to mediate and find solutions that balance the concerns of both parties. The regulation of shared transportation is a constantly evolving issue in Cartagena and the entire country and requires an equitable approach that guarantees passenger safety and fair competition in the sector.
El Universal contacted the Administrative Department of Transit and Transportation (DATT), who indicated the following: “We carry out operational controls aimed at all transportation segments. We control illegal transportation, imposing summonses for violation D12, and we also control the correct provision of public service in taxis, checking that taxi drivers have the requirements in order. But in the situation of fights and attacks, the agents have also been victims when they have tried to mediate, suffering personal injuries. This issue must be controlled and dealt with by the competent authority.”
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