As expected, after the result of the consultation carried out by the Santa Cruz City Hall about the reduction or not of the service of cab In the city, which remains at 80%, there is already a first association that has addressed the City Council to request that this percentage be 100%, at least during the Christmas holidays, although, given the majority result of the consultation, it is It is probable that, after the holidays, more associations will join the request to eliminate restrictions in the sector.
The MSK Self-Employed Association is the one that has registered this request, relying precisely, on the one hand, on the majority sentiment of the sector expressed in the consultation, in which it was rejected to reduce the number of taxi licenses that provide service in the city, and on the other, the more than probable increase in demand during the Christmas holidays was not taken into account.
Thus, this association of taxi drivers requests that the decree that must include the result of the consultation, include that, from December 12, 2022 to January 8, 2023, all municipal taxi licenses may provide service to 100 % without restrictions of any kind.
It is added that, regarding the days of great influx due to planned festivals and popular events, the current 2022 calendar will continue to be followed, but including January 1, 5 and 6, 2023, so that all licenses can provide service without any restrictions.
The taxi sector made a clear statement on November 27 on the proposal to reduce its working day to 60%, rejecting it by a large majority. The taxi drivers were called to vote if the current system, in which 585 licenses circulate every day, was maintained, or it was reduced to just over 400. Thus, of the 491 licenses that voted, 322 votes were counted in favor of maintaining the 80 current %, while lowering it to 60% added 167.
In the other question that was posed, that of whether the adapted taxis continued to work every day without restrictions or the same criteria were applied to them as to the rest, this last point was imposed, also by a majority.
Specifically, it was proposed that these taxis will only work with customers with reduced mobility on the days they are off, that is, when they are out of 80% of the shift, so that they will be able to work, but only with PRM customers and not in a general way. The vote closed with 434 votes in favor of this nuance, and 43 against.
The councilor for Transport, Dámaso Arteaga, valued at the time the high participation and advanced that the result of the vote would be studied to prepare the decree, to which the association has referred, which requests to expand the service to 100%.
