Nationwide Taxi strike halts service until Thursday morning
Greece will be without taxis until early Thursday, December 4, as taxi drivers continue a 48-hour nationwide strike launched on Tuesday.
Drivers are demanding the extension of the mandatory electrification deadline to 2035 and a renegotiation of taxi access to bus lanes, among other measures.
On the first day of the strike, taxi drivers held a motorcade protest outside the Transport Ministry in central Athens. Some demonstrators set up tents at the site, vowing to remain until they secure a meeting with Deputy Transport Minister Konstantinos Kyranakis.
SATA president Thymios Lymperopoulos warned that the strike could become indefinite if talks do not take place.
Similar protest marches were held in Thessaloniki, Mytilene and other major cities. In Thessaloniki, taxi owners planned a gathering at the KTEL “Macedonia” bus station on Wednesday, followed by a motorcade toward the farmers’ roadblock at the Malgara tolls.
Drivers’ demands include an extended electrification deadline, action against unfair competition from multinational ride-hailing platforms, a crackdown on illegal passenger transport by private cars, higher time-based and minimum fares, renegotiated access to special lanes for fully loaded taxis, implementation of pending sector regulations, tariff updates and “fair” tax treatment.
Union representatives are awaiting a meeting with the Transport Ministry, which is expected to include party officials.
