Filenews 1 March 2025 - by Ioanna Kyriacou
AKEL MP Costas Costas described the legislation passed on pirate cars as a hole in the water, since since June 2024, when it began to be implemented, only 110 complaints have been made about the use of private vehicles for hire or remuneration, although the problem has huge dimensions on a nationwide basis. The issue was discussed at today's meeting of the House Standing Committee on Transport, during which illegalities, serious gaps governing legislation and inadequate controls were highlighted, while the low rate of interest in issuing permits for the transport of disabled persons caused concern.
According to the data submitted to the Commission by the Department of Road Transport, most complaints about pirate taxis concerned the districts of Limassol and Paphos and the offenders were given extrajudicial notices amounting to €1,500 to €9,000. For its part, the Police stressed that they systematically carry out checks on taxi drivers, but face difficulty in substantiating cases since most passengers are tourists, which makes it difficult to secure a deposit.
Low interest in permits to transport disabled persons
Extremely worrying is the low interest of taxi drivers in issuing permits for the transport of disabled persons. According to the president of the Licensing Authority, Despina Amerikanou, only 17 applications have been submitted since December. In addition, he described as disappointing the fact that only one application was submitted in Nicosia, with the result that the capital currently does not have any licensed taxis for transporting disabled people. It is noted that people with disabilities are, among others, people who have recently undergone surgery, suffered an injury, kidney patients and cancer patients. The announcement was made due to the increased needs for transportation to and from hospitals, their doctors and their social visits. In fact, Ms. Amerikanou said that there are illegal advertisements on the internet from physiotherapy centers and companies that provide home care for transporting disabled people. "These people do not have a license, nor do we know if their vehicles are suitable or if the drivers are professionals, while they make unreasonable and prohibitive charges of about €50-60 for transporting patients from the clinics to their homes within Nicosia," he noted.
Illegalities visible on the Internet
In the meantime, the investigation carried out by Bolt, the results of which were brought to the attention of the Commission by the company's legal counsel, is of interest. Specifically, the survey showed that of all calls received by the company for taxis, only 20% can be served. The remaining 80%, he said, is channelled somewhere, possibly to pirate taxis. He even blamed the fact that many taxis advertise their services on the internet, as well as specific prices, which is illegal due to the existence of fares. "The implementation of the legislation has shortcomings, it does not address the source of the problem. The pirate's access to consumers must be cut off. We propose to issue new permits or even temporary permits during the summer periods when tourism is increased," he said.
Asked if there is an internet check to identify offenders, a spokesman for the Department of Road Transport replied that as a supervisory authority it notified several websites, which he claimed complied with the instructions given to them. However, he stressed that new cases arise every day and that testing should be daily. It is noted that the discussion was interrupted to follow the briefing of the committee on the progress of the implementation of the decrees regarding vehicle recalls, and will continue at a later stage in the presence of the Ministers of Transport, Justice and Legal Service. At the same time, the MPs asked the Police and the Ministry of Transport for detailed information on the complaints made, as well as the Department of Labour Inspection for undeclared work.
