28.11.2011 1

Provence & Côte d'Azur: traffic delays expected

Taxi drivers strike against "unfair competition"

Road users can expect delays this week as traffic will be disrupted by strike action, this time taxi drivers will be rallying across the Alpes-Maritimes against what they call "unfair competition".

Road users can expect delays this week as traffic will be disrupted by strike action, this time taxi drivers will be rallying across the Alpes-Maritimes against what they call "unfair competition".
Taxi workers strike against "unfair competition." Copyright Henry Salomé

Areas to be affected include Nice city centre, near the Nice Côte d'Azur airport, on the A8 between Nice and Cannes, and at the Saint-Charles station and Charles Livon Avenue in Marseille. Traffic congestion is also expected in Aix-en-Provence near the Arbois train station. 

According to taxi unions, 1,100 drivers will take to the streets in Nice, and in total 1,300 people in the wider Alpes-Maritimes. They are protesting against the VTC (Véhicle de Tourisme avec Chauffeur), a new service which is not part of the national taxi conglomerate, and therefore doesn't charge the standard fees. The unions say it is unfair competition.  

The protests have already caused havoc today, with road users experiencing a 15 kilometre traffic jam on the A8 between Nice and Cannes this morning. 

The strike will finish on Wednesday 30th November.

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Comments

Comment by Simon Saunders | 29.11.2011

At present, there's no competition, which means that taxi drivers from Aeroport Nice Côte d'Azur can charge more for a fare into Nice than many passengers have paid for their flights.

Rather than striking, they should simply charge a fairer fare - if the fare wasn't ten times more than the cost of a 98 bus to Vieux Nice or 99 to Gare Thiers, many more people would take a taxi, and they'd probably make more, rather than less money.

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