Tbilisi taxi drivers threaten authorities with endless protests

More than 300 taxi drivers arrived at the Bidzina Ivanishvili's residence in Tbilisi, demanding to cancel the new regulations of the taxi market in the capital of the country.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on March 20, at a rally in Tbilisi, several hundred taxi drivers demanded to cancel the order of the Mayoralty to repaint all the taxis white until October 1, 2019, in order to obtain a category "A" license, which allows searching for passengers on their own or through dispatch services. The Tbilisi Mayoralty refused to make concessions to taxi drivers, and protest organizers announced further actions.

On April 11, the protesting taxi drivers gathered at the Agrarian University in the Digomi Distrct and drove to the residence of Bidzina Ivanishvili, the leader of the "Georgian Dream" Party, by crossing the entire city. The protest was organized by the Labour Party of Georgia.

"We demand that taxi drivers be allowed to continue working [under the previous conditions] so that they can pick up their passengers in the streets," Lasha Chkhartishvili, the spokesman of the Labour Party, spoke on air of the "Rustavi-2" TV Channel.

Shalva Natelashvili, the leader of the Labour Party, has called on Kakha Kaladze, the Tbilisi Mayor, to start dialogue with drivers. "We are putting forward an ultimatum to Kakha Kaladze today: change the decision on new regulations for taxi drivers. Otherwise, we'll start permanent protest actions in front of the parliament," Mr Natelashvili said on air of the "Pirveli" TV Channel.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on April 11, 2019 at 09:52 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.