Taxi drivers and owners of intercity taxi services marched in Oaxaca City to protest the reorganization of public transportation in the city center.
The drivers marched to Primavera Park, where Governor Salomón Jara Cruz was holding his morning press conference. They then commandeered a Binni Bus and blocked the highway to Monte Albán.
A month ago, the Ministry of Mobility (Semovi) decided to prohibit intercity taxis from entering the historic center of the state capital. These taxis transport people from various municipalities in the Central Valleys region of Oaxaca, primarily those who work in Mexico City or who sell their products there.
Additionally, the Ministry removed the intercity taxis’ parking spaces at the Central de Abastos (wholesale market) and relocated them to a lot that, according to taxi drivers and passengers, did not meet the necessary operating conditions.
And amidst this process, a group of taxi drivers denounced that Oaxaca state government authorities were forcing them to join a union and pay more than 4,000 pesos monthly for the right to a parking space.
This transportation reorganization also caused discontent among passengers, who had to get out of the vehicles before entering the city of Oaxaca and then walk or take another mode of transport to their destination; this further increased the cost of public transportation.
“We are seeking to be relocated again, because it is also the passengers who pay the price, just as much as they need us and we need them,” explained one of the taxi drivers who participated in today’s march.
Source: oaxaca.eluniversal
