Malaga taxi chaos: Infuriated drivers bring city to a standstill! Costa News Spain

On Wednesday, January 29, the city of Malaga was brought to a screeching stop by massive taxi strikes.

Hundreds of furious taxi drivers brought Málaga to a standstill today, taking to the streets in protest against what they call ‘unbearable’ insurance costs. The strike is set to continue until 2 PM. Cabbies are blocking major roads while blaring horns and calling for action from City Hall.

The demonstrators kicked off their march at 10 AM from the car park of the José María Martín Carpena Sports Palace. By 11AM the convoy had begun to snake its way through the town, and more and more taxi drivers were joining in. By 12 PM, the cabbies had swarmed the Paseo Marítimo, bringing traffic to a grinding halt, despite initial claims that they would leave two lanes open for other vehicles.

Their mission is to: To deliver a manifesto to Málaga’s mayor, Francisco de la Torre, urging him to intervene with the national government. They want to stop treating them as high-risk VTC motorists and reduce their sky-high insurance premiums.

‘We can’t survive on these rip-off rates!’

Miguel Ángel Martín, head of Aumat (Málaga’s taxi drivers’ association), led the charge, rallying the troops with a megaphone and calling for a ‘peaceful’ strike. The tempers began to flare.

‘The situation is unsustainable,’ Martín blasted. ‘As self-employed workers, we are drowning in insane insurance costs. Some of us are paying up to €9,000 a year! It is daylight robbery.

Martín revealed that many taxi drivers are forced to turn to Spain’s Consorcio de Compensación de SegurosEven if you have a backup insurance plan, it won’t help. ‘It’s still through the roof! The policy only covers third-party damages, so you’ll have to buy additional policies for life insurance, roadside help, etc.

‘We’re paying the price for VTC crashes’

Cabbies say they are not responsible for the accidents. being Unfairly lumped with VTC drivers (private hire), who have much higher accident rate. ‘The government has shoved us into the same insurance category as VTCs, and now we’re paying the price for their high crash numbers. It’s unfair!’ Martín fumed.

Despite their frustration, taxi bosses insist that they The work is working To minimise disruption, we work with the authorities. The government has approved the strike and organisers have worked closely with police and local authorities to ensure that public transport and emergency vehicles are kept moving.

There’s more to come!

This fight is not over yet, as more taxis are joining the protest from all across the province. Drivers say that if the government doesn’t intervene, the next protest could be bigger. Stay tuned for updates.

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