Service taxi drivers in Lebanon have decided to start charging a higher fee for rides, the head of the General Union of Drivers’ Syndicates, Marwan Fayyad, announced on Wednesday.
Fayyad announced the news to the Voice of Lebanon radio station, revealing that the service taxi tariff in Beirut had already been raised to 8,000 Lebanese pounds. He said the move comes after the increase in fuel prices.
“Public vehicles were affected by the increase in fuel by 94%, and there is no return to the 5,000 price unless the state supports us with 20 cans of gasoline at a price of 40,000 pounds,” he said.
On not referring to the Transport Ministry before issuing such a decision, Fayyad said that the entire country is “unbridled,” blaming “the failed government.”
However, shortly after Fayyad’s announcement, Bassam Tlais, head of the Unions and Syndicates of the Land Transport Sector, affirmed that the service tariff would remain at 4,000 Lebanese pounds.
Tlais also encouraged people to take pictures of the license plates of drivers not abiding by this price and to notify security forces of violations.
“We’ve submitted a proposal, approved by the Prime Minister, that includes allocating 500,000 pounds per month as a maintenance for each public touristic car,” he announced.
Lebanon had raised the prices of fuel on Tuesday after partially lifting its subsidy, in a move that is expected to alleviate the severe nationwide fuel shortage.
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