After a series of cases of violence against taxi drivers in Plovdiv, Pernik and other cities, the industry demands urgent legislative changes and harsher punishments for the perpetrators. The National Taxi Union wants the profession to be treated as protected, similar to that of teachers and medical specialists.
Taxi driver Ventsislav Tsvetkov spoke about the attack on him in Pernik, in which he was seriously injured. Customers asked him to buy them an energy drink. After he refused, they attacked him.
According to him, the aggression arose from a minor conflict that quickly escalated.
Representatives of the taxi sector emphasized that violence against drivers is not an isolated case, but a systemic problem. “This cannot continue. We want a normal European country and normal working conditions“, said a driver.
The industry is also demanding specific security measures, including installing cameras and panic buttons in cars.
According to Krasimir Tsvetkov from the National Taxi Union, several separate incidents involving drivers have been registered in different parts of the country in the past week.
“There was an attack and a run after not paying a bill, there was an incident in Pernik and another one in Plovdiv“, he pointed out on the air of “Your Day“.
According to him, the industry views these cases as assaults in the workplace and is demanding a change in the approach to the administration of justice. “We have had a problem with justice in this area for years. "The cases have been going on for years," Tsvetkov commented.
The union is demanding changes that would limit the possibility of agreements between perpetrators and the prosecutor's office if this leads to lighter sentences.
According to Tsvetkov, it is also necessary to speed up court proceedings and impose maximum sentences.