Various taxi drivers in Groningen are frustrated. For years they see how illegal taxis and drivers from outside work in the city and raise the alarm. “It’s a gang.”
A boy sits down with his legs raised in the trunk of a gray Opel with a yellow license plate. The car is on the industrial park near Euvelgunne where students celebrate the Vindicat Lustrum and is surrounded by taxis and students.
A man in jeans closes the trunk, gets into the car and drives away.
A taxi driver films the scene and shares the video in a group app with dozens of fellow taxi drivers, working in the Groningen area. They immediately recognize it: this must be a mustache (an illegal taxi.)
Red -hot
The group app is often red -hot at busy moments. Then the drivers send photos of cars that occur as taxi, license plates of suspicious vans or other craziness to each other.
The taxi drivers regularly see snorders (illegal taxis) in the city. They also notice that Taxis from outside Groningen ask two to three times the price of an average ride or turn on the meter too late. That they take a detour to ask for more money, or refuse small trips.
Customers who experience this report the abuses to the Groningen taxi drivers. They then stay behind with the short journeys and earn less money.
These are problems that have been playing for years, different taxi drivers say separately, and they seem to get worse.
Rules of taxi transport
Taxi driver is a liberal profession, which means that drivers can offer their services throughout the country. Taxis must have an approved meter in the car. If a driver does not use the meter correctly, the police can write a fine. A taxi driver may agree on a ride price with a customer, who is higher than the price on the meter. The must be agreed in advance.
The police can also arrest a driver and write a report verbally when a taxi runs without a permit, then it must be caught red -handed. In principle, taxi drivers must serve every customer unless someone is very drunk, for example.
The low point of recent times was the anniversary of Vindicat, says a driver who does not want to be named by name due to security reasons. He is afraid that he will be in trouble when he openly tells about what he sees happening.
According to him, snorders and taxis from outside the city are playing en masse at major events, such as the anniversary. Many of them also came to the concert series in the Stadspark and events in the neighborhood such as the TT in Assen. ,, People are probably scammed for thousands of euros. In this way the taxi world is destroyed, “says the driver frustrated.
‘Gang in the city’
“It’s a gang in the city,” says fellow taxi driver Ajay Ramsoebhag. “And we have to clean up the mess.” According to him, the image of taxis in Groningen deteriorates because of this kind of practices and people are becoming less keen to take a taxi.
“If nobody comes anymore, we will no longer have any work,” says Servet Uzun. He has been a driver in Groningen for twenty years. “But I have not experienced it so much before.” In the meantime, a group of dozens of illegal drivers and taxis from outside would be active in Groningen. ,, People get afraid of it, come to the city for a nice night out, but are sometimes financially stripped or scolded. I hear stories from women who are harassed. ”
Taxi winds
“Drivers can mislead customers and there are no consequences,” says taxi driver Ramo Goopal. “That information spreads like an ongoing fire.” When the drivers address the snorders or colleagues themselves, they are sometimes threatened, scolded or have to deal with aggressiveness.
Due to the frustration, Ramo works less than before. It cost him thousands of euros so far. “I just skipped the Vindicat Lustrum. “There is nothing left.” He is afraid that conflicts get out of hand if bodies do not intervene.
As a representative of the taxi drivers in Groningen, Ramo had several discussions with the municipality. The drivers have also approached the police and the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate several times, which checks whether taxi drivers adhere to the rules. They carry out checks, in collaboration with the police and municipality.
But in recent years, little has changed according to the drivers. Ramo hopes that Groningen will introduce a taxi regulation, so that requirements for the quality of taxi drivers are set.
The municipality of Taxistwerards appointed in April. They supervise the Grote Markt during the weekend and talk to customers and drivers.
Nationwide
“We are aware of the problems that play a role,” the municipality of Groningen responds. The municipality points out that other cities have the same problems with regard to illegal taxis and quality differences between local and non-local taxi drivers. ,, We monitor the situation meticulously and take appropriate measures where necessary. Because we want to tackle this carefully, it can take some time before changes are visible. ”
The municipality is currently investigating the quality of local taxi transport. ,
Also in cities such as Den Bosch, illegal taxis are active during busy events. The municipality has The rules regarding enforcement adjusted making the police more easier and can immediately issue a fine of 700 euros, even several times on an evening. Previously, the municipality could only give a warning or impose a penalty.
Do you also have a negative experience with a taxi driver that you want to share with us? You can mail to [email protected]