A demonstration by VTC drivers on January 24, 2024, in Paris (AFP/Archives/Thomas SAMSON)
Concert of horns, snail operations: taxis and VTCs are ready for a showdown to defend their rights a few months before the Paris Olympic Games.
The “Olympic lanes” which must soon be installed are a symbol of their opposition: the left lane of several major roads in the Ile-de-France region, including the Paris ring road, will be reserved for Games vehicles, public transport… and taxis, but not to VTCs.
“We are excluded from traffic systems dedicated to the 2024 Olympics, unfairly benefiting taxis, even though they cannot meet massive demand on their own,” accuses the French VTC Association (AVF).
VTC drivers are multiplying demonstrations, snail operations, meetings in town halls and ministries, to demand “fair” working conditions compared to those of taxis, all against the backdrop of an electoral campaign before the union elections in May.
After the Olympics, the State intends to reserve these lanes during rush hours for carpooling and public transport on the A1 and A13 at the beginning of 2025. Paris town hall intends to do the same on the ring road at the end of 2024.
In these time slots, VTCs will only be able to access them with a passenger on board, unlike taxis which benefit from unrestricted access.
For David Belliard, deputy (EELV) to the mayor of Paris in charge of Transport, taxis are entitled to it because they are considered public transport. In Paris, “it is also a desire not to overload the tracks”, he underlined in an interview with AFP.
– “Disaster area” –
More broadly, VTCs regret the absence of dedicated areas to pick up or drop off passengers as close as possible to the Olympic sites and in general near Parisian stations. They also ask for access to the future limited traffic zone in the center of Paris.
They also believe that the national exam to become a VTC has become too easy and there are too many drivers. “The platforms are taking advantage of this to lower fares for trips,” complains a Parisian driver, despite a salary agreement established at the end of December 2023, which establishes a minimum of nine euros per trip and 30 euros per hour.
Some VTCs also demand that France support European legislation on the rights of platform workers, which plans to reclassify them as employees of platforms like Uber and others.
“It’s a disaster sector, we have no recognition, no respect. It’s a stopgap profession,” complains Brahim Ben Ali of the INV union. At his call, the VTC plan to demonstrate again on February 24 and in particular to “block Rungis” and the A1 motorway in Lille, at the call of the INV union.
– Medical transport –
A sign “No VTC no Olympics” on a windshield during a demonstration of VTC drivers on January 24, 2024, in Paris (AFP/Archives/Thomas SAMSON)
Taxis, for their part, consider that their profession is attacked from all sides.
Hundreds of drivers demonstrated again on Wednesday morning in Toulouse and Toulon against the new Social Security finance law, which pools the journeys of medical patients.
Taxis would like to exclude from this new system third-party platforms which connect hospitals and transporters and charge a commission, taking a share of the pie.
A meeting planned for January 12 at the Ministry of Health was unsuccessful, with the ministry being replaced. A new meeting is planned for March, said Rachid Boudjema, of the National Taxi Union.
Health carpooling, “is the straw that breaks the camel’s back”, according to Gérôme Lassalle, of the Elite Taxis association. “We can clearly see counterfeiting becoming more and more present, with VTCs practicing marauding. Why not more VTC stations? It’s been happening since 2011 and we’re fed up with it,” he concludes.
© 2024 AFP
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