Taxi drivers protested on the Cover to the Sea this Tuesday for the return of the ‘peak and plate’ in Cali

A group of taxi drivers protested in Cali for the return of the usual ‘pico y placa’, which went into effect on Monday.

The drivers, in principle, advanced a sit-in on Avenida 2, in front of the Municipal Administrative Center, CAM, in the center of Cali, and then they advanced another demonstration on the Portada al Mar.

Taxi driver José Burbano urged the mayor, Jorge Iván Ospina, and the Secretary of Mobility, William Vallejo, to “replace the ‘pico y vida'” to replace the ‘pico y placa’.

The ‘peak and life’ measure, which worked for two weeks, prohibited the circulation of cars, motorcycles and taxis throughout the day, according to the last number on the plaque.

However, it allowed the circulation of vehicles like this: Monday, Wednesday and Friday, for plates finished in odd digits, and Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, in even numbers. On Sunday only taxis and citizens were mobilized within the exceptions.

But with the reactivation of different sectors of the economy, the Mayor’s Office reactivated the ‘peak and plate’ as it had been operating since January.

However, due to the Covid-19 crisis, the authorities also prohibited taxi drivers from picking up passengers on the street and authorized the provision of the service as long as it was requested by citizens through mobile applications or calls.

“We want them to let us pick up people on the street, because we all don’t have good cell phones to download applications,” Burbano asked.

William Vallejo, Secretary of Mobility, made a presence at the CAM and noted that “the provisions that have been made are following national guidelines.”

“What they are asking me to change between now and tomorrow, I cannot do it,” he said.

According to the official, the return of the ‘peak and plate’ was defined on the basis of “that every day we received requests from taxi drivers who asked us to lift the measure.”

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Approximately 100 taxi drivers protested in front of the CAM.

Bernardo Peña / El País

Taxi drivers also have limited the capacity of people inside the cars to a maximum of two, in order to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. Likewise, they must disinfect the cars every time they provide a service.

But since this union has also been affected by the quarantine, they demand more effective measures to carry out their work in the city and thus begin to recover.

The concentration in the Cover to the Sea sector culminated around 6:00 p.m. when officials from the Ministry of Mobility collected the requests of the transporters and assured that they will submit them for study.