Ilyas Mouani (Vooruit.brussels) requests support for the sector
Ilyas Mouani, Brussels Member of Parliament for Vooruit.brussels, This calls for the government and parliament to consider support measures for Brussels taxi drivers. They recently sounded the alarm about rising oil prices and announced a strike. “Trump's war in the Middle East is making life more expensive for all working people,” says Mouani, “But taxi drivers are being hit particularly hard by the escalating prices at the pump.”
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The violent démarche by American President Donald Trump in Iran has had severe consequences for the purchasing power of ordinary people. Energy prices are soaring, but the effect is particularly significant on fuel prices. For those who rely on their car for work, this is a disaster. “But for few professional groups is the effect as great as for taxi drivers,” says Ilyas Mouani, a Brussels MP for Vooruit.brussels.
“Taxi drivers literally make the city run every day. Trump's illegal war in the Middle East is making life more expensive for all working people. But for taxi drivers, the situation has slowly become untenable. Moreover, they also have to hand over ever-higher commissions to foreign platforms like Uber, leaving them with very little margin at the end of the day. And that's in a world where everything is only getting more expensive.
– Ilyas Mouani (Vooruit.brussels)
Support measures
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Mouani therefore wants to convene a working group in parliament, together with the Brussels government, so that it can consider possible support measures. Specifically, he is considering the following initiatives:
- Capping the commissions charged by platforms such as Uber, so that taxi drivers receive fair payment for their work
- Extension of permission for taxis to use bus lanes, which has a favourable effect on the number of kilometres driven
- Mandatory training for new taxi drivers, which should ensure a more qualitative offering, rather than purely quantity
- Stricter approach to platforms that do not adhere to social rules provide insufficient protection for drivers
Mouani also points to France, where the government has already come up with measures to protect the broad transport sector from high fuel prices. Brussels must not be left behind, he believes.
“These are difficult times for the taxi sector, which nonetheless shapes the Brussels street scene. The electrification of the fleet will make us less susceptible to this type of geopolitical development in the long run and must therefore be pursued resolutely. But in the meantime, people who work incredibly hard every day must never be left out in the cold. Vooruit will continue to fight for this., the MP decides.