Social security for taxi drivers and other agreements with the Government

From hours of the morning a taxi drivers strike in different cities of the country. Blockades were recorded in Cartagena Santa Marta, Bucaramanga, Cali, Medellín, and even riots in Popayán.

The case of Bogotá was atypical, since around 8 in the morning, some taxi driver leaders announced that They would lift the strike at different points because there were no guarantees for the mobilization.

(Read: The taxi driver’s strike is lifted after reaching an agreement with the Government).

They assured that the cars were hitting them or the authorities were mobilizing them. Given this, they were received at the Ministry of Transportation at 10:00 am for a meeting with Minister Guillermo Reyes.

After the meeting ended, they announced thatThere was an agreement and the taxi drivers’ strike was lifted. “We can tell the country that we have found a formula for coexistence with the following points,” said Reyes

On the transport platforms, one of the criticisms of the taxi drivers, the Government assured that the regulation “establishes that the public transport service must be provided through transport companies and in vehicles registered with said services“.

In this sense, they called for the authorities tos carry out a control that this provision is complied with. “A table will be created to analyze the different forms of illegality and informality and what are the transversal measures that can be chosen to face these modalities,” said Reyes.

(Furthermore: Indigenous people confronted the police and entered the Medellín Mayor’s Office).

“In terms of technological platforms, the Ministry of ICT, Labor and Transportation will work together with all the actors, making it clear that any regulation that may be issued will belong exclusively to the Congress of the Republic.“said the senior official.

About him gas price hike, They assured that they are trying to resolve the de-financing of the Stabilization Fund. The meeting to set gasoline prices will be next Thursday, March 2.

They also assured that the Government has proposed the creation of a Fund for the Promotion of Technological Ascent for taxis as a source of incentives and resources for the energy transition.

The Government assured that it is working on a law to reformulate the penalty regime for all modes of transport: “Specific tools and instruments are established for the control of informal and illegal transport”.

They assure that they will continue tworking for the social security of taxi drivers with an application to the Council of State.

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Regarding the validity of the driving licenses, they assured that it is the responsibility of the Congress of the Republic. Regarding the rates, the Ministry of Transport will be in charge of review the parameters taking into account the accessibility to the service.

“The Ministry is in a position to review the existing regulation on the transport capacity in the individual passenger service, in a process of joint construction with the actors of the sector and the transport authorities.“, they explain in the document.

They also assure that they will evaluate the possibility of unifying the policies required for the different modes of transport, as the individual passenger. Along with this, review the approval of vehicles for individual transport.

Another of the commitments is to issue instructions to the transit authorities for the requirement of the ‘peace and safe’ of companies to carry out procedures. “The non-immobilization of the taxis due to the lack of the company seal on the control cards,” they explain.

They assured that they are building a protocol that defines the procedure for police officers and agents to control traffic and transportation. Also will seek to modify the number of occasional travel forms for individual passenger transport.

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Finally, the dates were defined to carry out regional work tables with all the actors. These will be in Pasto, Cali, Armenia, Pereira, Medellín, Popayán, Montería, Barranquilla, Valledupar, Bucaramanga, Villavicencio, Facatativá and Bogotá.

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