Public transport operators demand solution to rising energy prices – EURACTIV.com
Taxi, ambulance and bus drivers will demonstrate in Madrid city center on Sunday to demand the implementation of urgent measures to reduce soaring energy prices, EURACTIV partner EFE reported.
Representatives of the Spanish National Road Transport Committee (Comité Nacional de Transporte por Carretera, CNTC) see you on Wednesday (March 23) with the Minister of Transport, Raquel Sánchez, to “inform her of the critical situation that the sector is going through due to the exponential rise in energy prices”, the association pointed out in a press release.
“We are very aware of the demands of the sector and in particular of the self-employed and SMEs, and therefore I ask for a vote of confidence (of the workers concerned),” Raquel Sánchez said in an interview broadcast on Tuesday by private television channel Telecinco.
However, the president of the Spanish National Association of Taxis (ANTAXI), Julio Sanz, who represents the interests of the sector within the CNTC, said on Tuesday that taxi drivers would have “serious problems to survive” if taxi prices energy continue to soar.
“Portugal and France have already adopted measures” to reduce the impact of energy prices in the transport sector, recalled Sanz.
Meanwhile, Spanish truckers returned to the streets on Tuesday for the ninth day to continue an indefinite strike to demand better working conditions amid soaring diesel prices, exacerbated by the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
The strike organizers, owners of the Platform for Transport Defense small trucks, are demanding lower taxes and lighter regulations to improve what they called a “catastrophic” situation for businesses.
The strike has caused roadblocks in Spain, disrupting supply chains in all sectors, mainly in the agro-food sector.
On Tuesday, Danone and Heineken warned of shortages of vital products. Danone suffers from shortages of milk and Heineken of mineral water.
The two Spanish companies could be forced to temporarily halt production if the situation worsens, EURACTIV partner says EFE Agro reported.