Taxi city and TAT Friday, August 23, 2019 at the College for Business in The Hague brought summary proceedings against the municipality of Amsterdam. Taxi organizations refuse to impose the prescribed sanctions on their drivers any longer. The Municipal Executive has imposed a penalty of 10.000 euros on the organizations.
The taxi organizations thus respond to the great discontent that exists among drivers. Street taxis in Amsterdam are subject to strict regulations and must be affiliated with a TTO. For minor offenses, such as stopping at a full place of employment, for example, TTOs are required to impose suspensions ranging from one week or one month suspension to final exclusion.
According to the organizations, these severe sanctions can no longer be sold to the drivers in the changed market conditions. The biggest objection, according to the organizations, is that their drivers have the burdens but no longer the benefits of exclusive access to the street market.
Ruud Lagerwaard, chairman of TAT:
“There is an uneven playing field. The drivers face great competition from Uber drivers who illegally serve the street market. The municipality does not impede them straw-wide. If they are caught at all, they will be fined. Our drivers lose their entire income in the event of violations. ”
Many Uber drivers drive through the city with a small roof light, according to Lagerwaard, to be able to acquire customers illegally.
“Despite repeated discussions, the municipality actually refuses to take action against this robbery. A covenant recently concluded between Uber and the municipality of Amsterdam will not change this situation. The agreements with Uber consist of non-binding effort obligations. In the meantime, our drivers are having more and more trouble earning something on the street ”, says Lagerwaard.
The responsible councilor Sharon Dijksma has announced that he will ensure a level playing field by abolishing the mandatory suspensions for a number of violations.
Lagerwaard: “All parties actually agree that the existing situation puts drivers at a serious disadvantage. The FNV has also recently urged changes to the rules. We are not going to wait for that anymore and have been converting the mandatory suspensions to reasonable penalties for some time. ”
TTOs (authorized taxi organizations)
Also read: Sharon Dijksma and Uber make agreements about safety in Amsterdam
