Taxi Demonstration in Vienna: Protest Continues

Already two weeks ago, on November 26, the protest drive in the afternoon in Vienna caused significant traffic disruptions. The convoy started today, as before, at 12:00 PM on Arbeiterstrandbadstraße near the Danube Tower and led through the second district to Heldenplatz, where the final rally took place at 3:00 PM.

The movement, which claims to be politically independent and consists of around 1,200 taxi drivers, sees itself as facing unfair competition from Uber, Bolt, and others, as they are allowed to charge within a price range. There should be a uniform and binding taxi tariff for all passenger transport in Vienna. Other demands include territorial protection against incoming competition from Lower Austria and a "reliable and integral representation of interests by the taxi guild" as well as increased control of business licenses.

Competitor Uber emphasized on Tuesday that the US ride service provider strictly adheres to Austrian laws. "In Austria, dynamic pricing is only possible within a legally defined price range, if such exists. This is regulated differently in each federal state. For Vienna, it applies that pre-booked rides may be a maximum of 20 percent above and 20 percent below the taxi tariff - this applies to every pre-booked ride, even from traditional taxi centers," the company stated. However, the term "pre-booked" is precisely what the taxi drivers, who wait at stands or pick up walk-in customers during the ride, criticize.

Uber fundamentally stated: "Higher prices for rides do not lead to more revenue, but to fewer passengers. We already see this in cities with high tariffs."

Regarding territorial protection, Uber pointed out in a statement to the APA that drivers from Lower Austria do not accept rides within Vienna via the Uber app. "Our technology ensures this," said Uber.

After Closing Rally at Vienna's Heldenplatz, Traffic Situation Eases

After the closing rally at 3:00 PM at Heldenplatz, the traffic situation in the city center eased somewhat. However, drivers on Franz-Josefs-Kai still needed a lot of patience, as there were traffic jams in places up to Rossauer Lände. The waiting times on the Ring were still around 15 minutes. Major delays were avoided today, according to the two mobility clubs ÖAMTC and ARBÖ. However, the evening rush hour traffic is already starting.

Car Importers Express Discontent

On Tuesday, car importers also expressed their discontent, albeit only in writing. The planned changes to the standard consumption tax (NoVA), such as the impending end of the NoVA refund when exporting vehicles abroad, would have led to chaos.

The tax is a "costly, administrative relic that no one understands anymore and is associated with extremely high administrative effort both for authorities and companies," said Günther Kerle, spokesperson for the car importers. He urgently suggests a simplification. Corresponding offers for talks have so far not been successful in the Ministry of Finance.

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.