A group of taxi drivers had a meeting with the municipality of Breda on Monday evening. Earlier in the evening, dozens of drivers had stopped their cars in protest at the Haven in Breda. Just like last year, they are angry that competitors from other cities provide rides in Breda during carnival and that the municipality, according to them, is not enforcing it sufficiently. “We feel cheated.”
History repeats itself for the taxi industry in the Baroniestad. Also in 2022, during carnival, it was teeming with illegal taxis and taxis that are not normally active in Breda. That is against the sore leg of the local drivers, who say they adhere to the rules. Dogan Sari, one of them: “And then the quality mark is still taken away from a number of my colleagues. In the meantime, the municipality of Breda is not taking any action. Why are there no checks, just like in cities such as Den Bosch, Roosendaal and Tilburg?”
‘Hospitable city’
A spokeswoman for the municipality denies that enforcers are doing nothing. “There are four official stands for taxi drivers with a quality mark in the city. We monitor this. We think it is important to drive with a quality mark. Safety is also monitored there. Except for these places, it is up to travelers themselves who they want to be transported by and drivers outside Breda are free to report here. We want to be a welcoming city. So the choice is up to the customer. I don’t know if our attitude is at the expense of a group of taxi drivers in our city.”
Sari doesn’t have to think about that: “This is bread robbery, we just feel abandoned. This is inexplicable, isn’t it? Moreover, the municipality does not want to talk to us.” Later in the evening, a conversation took place, but Francien Aerts looks back on it with mixed feelings. The Bredase runs Taxi Sientje and is part of a platform that consults with the municipality.
‘wrong way’
Francien Aerts: “The municipality has told us that nearly sixty fines were handed out to taxi drivers on Sunday evening, partly because they drove without a specific vignette. But I expect that tomorrow it will be a mess again if even stricter action is taken against drivers from “Amsterdam, Rotterdam or The Hague. In the meantime, tickets are being issued for minor violations. This is the wrong way. It is not for nothing that many colleagues went home early tonight.”
The Bredase also reported that they tried in vain to get back the quality marks that were taken away on Sunday evening. According to BN De Stem those quality marks had been taken after swearing and riots had broken out.
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