The decades old conflict between taxi drivers and hoteliers is again heating up. The debate revolves around the right of hoteliers to establish who can pick up passengers at their hotels and the rights of the tourists to choose their method of transport. The taxi unions maintain, however, that their service is protected under Ministry of Tourism legislation.
The hoteliers recognize, that for the most part, the taxis authorized to await fares on their premises have drivers that are more likely to speak foreign languages, are accustomed to assisting tourists, are trained as tour guides and are registered and checked out by the hotels, and thus are more trustworthy in their relations with guests.
On the other hand, there have been complaints by tourists of the high cost of transportation provided by them and pressure on the hotels to provide the guests with alternatives. In the past, the hotel taxi drivers have been known to act violently against any other service that they feel is fringing on their turf. As a consequence, the hoteliers are now asking the Minister of Tourism to mediate.
The Hotel & Restaurant Association has called the members of the Federación Nacional de Transporte Turistico to meetings at the ministry, but union leaders have resisted attending. The hoteliers say that there should not be a monopoly in the transportation of tourists staying at their hotels. They favor the concept that a tourist may choose how he wants to travel, in a hotel taxi, a carro publico, or a radio taxi. The unions strongly oppose this and resist having to face competition.
Commenting in the newspaper Hoy, the president of the Tourism Commission of the Chamber of Deputies, in the National Congress, Julio Altagracia, said that union members of Federación Nacional de Transporte Turístico charge high rates and when they meet with opposition from the tourists they may even resort to violence. He said that they act as if they are owners of the hotels. On the other hand, he said he does not fully support the new regulations Asonahores wants to introduce because they were written without taking into account the interests of the taxi union members.