The President of the Taxi Transport Association at the Croatian Chamber of Trades and Crafts (HOK), Božo Miletić, stated on Thursday that the Government’s proposal for the law on road transport favors Uber and sends three thousand taxi drivers-entrepreneurs to their doom.
– After two years of illegal operations by Uber in Croatia, the Government is seeking to urgently pass a new law on road transport which, under the guise of liberalization, will enable anarchy on the roads and give a free hand to foreign companies that do not pay taxes in Croatia, says Miletić’s statement.
>>> Taxi ordering via application is being introduced, the limitation on the number of taxi licenses is being abolished
It is added that “such favoritism towards Uber’s lobbyists is sharply condemned by taxi drivers who wonder how it is possible that changes such as the decision that providers of taxi services do not have to know the area in which they operate are considered progress.”
Continuation of the fight for the interests of entrepreneurs
The head of HOK’s taxi association criticizes Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and President Kolinda Grabar Kitarović for not meeting with taxi representatives and claims they met with “Uber’s lobbyists.” If the Government’s proposal is accepted, it will mean doom for three thousand taxi drivers-entrepreneurs, warns Miletić.
>>> HGK supports the liberalization of the taxi market
– Minister Butković will, through urgent procedures, bring another three thousand entrepreneurs to a blockade and enable a flood of untrained drivers and congestion in already overcrowded streets in coastal cities during the summer, claims Miletić.
According to him, Uber’s partners – drivers continue to violate the valid Law on Road Transport and other laws, and he announces the continuation of the fight for the interests of entrepreneurs.
– We will exhaust all legal options available to us to show those responsible for this situation that we will not allow injustice to drive us out of our country, even though they have brought us to a wall, said Miletić.
>>> VIDEO: Taxi Association HOK – The proposed law on road transport endangers 2,500 entrepreneurs
He calls the claim that accepting the Government’s proposal will increase the number of jobs a fabrication.
– It is a fabrication that the number of jobs will increase when our 2,500 will be destroyed, concludes Miletić.
The price is determined by the carriers
On Thursday, the Government submitted a proposal for the law on road transport to the parliamentary procedure through urgent procedures, which among other things allows for the ordering and payment of taxi transport via electronic applications. According to the Government’s proposal, transport could also be ordered through electronic applications, the limitation on the number of taxi licenses would be abolished, and the prices of services would be determined by the carriers themselves.
>>> Butković: we are legalizing Uber; Taxi drivers: the draft is influenced by certain lobbyists and leads to anarchy
One of the proposed innovations is that carriers choose the means they will use for charging rides – a taximeter or an electronic application. In this case, Uber has not been allowed to register as a special form of transport. The Government estimates that the liberalization of the taxi service market will at least double the number of taxi drivers, which is currently around 3,000.
The Minister of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure, Oleg Butković, said at the Government session that the Government proposes new legal solutions to adapt to market trends, new forms of transport, and European Union regulations.
In the justification for the urgent procedure, it is stated, among other things, that at the beginning of the tourist season, when the level of transport demand rises sharply, unresolved issues, as a consequence of the non-adoption of this law, would continue negative market trends in the transport market also in the form of carrying passengers in personal vehicles without the necessary licenses and permits, which would deepen negative events in passenger transport.
>>> Taxi drivers have announced lawsuits against the state, criminal charges, and protests due to Uber
Namely, it is stated that through the actions of the competent inspection services and the judgments of the competent misdemeanor courts, it has been established that a large number of physical and legal persons operating in the passenger transport market have contracts for the use of the Uber application but are using that application to carry out transport illegally, without the necessary licenses and permits.
As the number of illegal transport activities in this regard is increasing, it must be stopped and prevented by establishing an adequate legal framework, which is what this law is doing, say the Government.
