Kosta Minovski, the owner of Rijeka’s Taxi Cameo, has registered four companies for taxi transportation in Zagreb (Taxi Zagreb, Modem, Oliva, and Vlado), seemingly outsmarting Zagreb’s taxi drivers.
In the call for applications for the issuance of permits for taxi transportation in Zagreb, which the president of the Radio Taxi association, Juraj Šnidarić, deemed positive, in addition to the obligation to employ exclusively qualified drivers and pass a city knowledge exam, a maximum of 50 permits can be issued to carriers. However, with four companies, Minovski will apply for 200 permits. Despite this, the published call, Šnidarić believes, does not favor Minovski.
– He does not have qualified drivers. If he thinks this is Osijek and Rijeka, he is mistaken – Šnidarić states, alluding to accusations, especially from Osijek taxi drivers, that Minovski is not operating legally in those cities. He adds that a report has been sent to the State Attorney’s Office regarding 296 unqualified drivers in Rijeka, and additionally, Radio Taxi has forwarded a report that his account is blocked and that he pays employees under the table. Minovski denies the allegations and states that his drivers are qualified, and this will also be the case in Zagreb. He claims that in mid-December, he paid his workers through an account at Podravska Bank and that he operated positively in 2010.
– I know I am under scrutiny and I have no intention of doing anything illegal. I will crush Zagreb’s taxi drivers in a business sense – Minovski states. (E. F.)
