The country will remain without taxis until the early hours of Thursday, December 4, due to the 48-hour nationwide strike of taxi drivers. Among their demands are an extension of the deadline for mandatory electrification to 2035, and a renegotiation of taxi access to bus lanes.

Yesterday, on the first day of the 48-hour strike, taxi drivers carried out a motorcade protest in central Athens, outside the Ministry of Transport.

Some of the demonstrators set up tents outside the building, declaring they are determined to stay. The president of SATA, Thymios Lymperopoulos, spoke of a possible indefinite strike if no meeting is held with the Deputy Minister of Transport, Konstantinos Kyranakis.

Protest marches also took place in Thessaloniki and other major cities across the country.

This morning, taxi owners in Thessaloniki are planning a gathering with their vehicles at the KTEL “Macedonia” bus station, followed by a motorcade toward the farmers’ roadblock at the Malgara tolls.

The taxi owners’ demands include:

• Extension of the mandatory electrification deadline to 2035
• Measures against unfair competition caused by multinational ride-hailing apps
• Immediate action to stop illegal passenger transport by private cars (E.I.X.)
• Increase in time-based charges and minimum fares nationwide
• Renegotiation of access for fully loaded taxis to special lanes
• Implementation of all pending provisions in the sector’s legislative bill
• Tariff adjustments
• Fair tax treatment

They also expect a meeting with the Ministry, where the union’s leadership and party representatives will participate.