The agreements between taxi drivers and the government to ward off the ‘ghost’ of unemployment

The rumor of a taxi drivers’ strike due to the increase in fuel prices and other claims, had been gaining strength in recent days.

However the ‘ghost’ of a cessation of activities seems to have moved away after the meeting between President Gustavo Petro and representatives of the taxi drivers, in which several agreements were reached on issues such as fuel rates, tolls and digital platforms, among others.

(The Government will not raise the ACPM price until June 2023).

After the meeting, President Petro instructed the Minister of Transport to lead the creation of three working groups on the issues that most concern the sector: social security for taxi drivers (in which the Ministry of Labor must participate ); the technological platforms (in which the ICT Ministry must be present), and the energy transition platform, the purpose of which will be address the sources of resources and financing for the transition from gasoline vehicles to electric vehicles.

According to the agreement, all the tables must include representatives of the sector, and work to build proposals that allow solutions to be found immediately to the problems raised at the meeting.

(Rise in gasoline would reduce the deficit by $600,000 million).

The Colombian president assured that “the challenge and obligation of taxis is to guarantee that the service improves, and that would be achieved through electric vehicles.” For this reason, in the Working Table on this topic, formulas will be sought to finance the transition from gasoline-powered taxis to clean technologies that generate Environmental Justice. The objective is that this Government progresses gradually, starting with the oldest vehicles and the most insecure for the user.

During this space, the Government reiterated that the price of ACPM will not increase until June 2023. It also promised to review the toll rates and the proposals brought by the unions, taking into account the various factors that currently influence the determination of fuel prices.

(Fuels, the product that Colombia exported the most from January to August).

Likewise, in this meeting, the issue of existing binational agreements on the borders of the national territory was discussed, where neighboring countries such as Ecuador and Bolivia apply unfair and disproportionate rates and conditions to Colombian transporters, regarding which, the President of the Republic pointed out that this situation will change with the next decisions that will be taken in the Andean Community of Nations, in which Venezuela and Chile will soon join, and as a guest country, Argentina.

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