Heading to downtown San Jose or Escazu today? Maybe rethink that for a bit, as taxi drivers and truckers, in two separate movements, will be blocking the streets of San Jose and the Ruta 27 (San Jose – Caldera) in the area of Escazu.
The taxi drivers are continuing their protests against Uber, this time, however, against officials of the Ministry of Transport (MOPT), in particular, the Policia de Transito (traffic police) for not keeping their word.
Earlier this year, the MOPT committed itself to a hardline on Uber drivers. In the beginning, there were a spot checks to detect Uber drivers, whom the government maintains they are providing an illegal service.
The leader of the taxi association said the protest is for the lack of seriousness against the Uber driver, where only 60 fines have been issued this year, of the estimate 16,000 drivers the app company claims to have in Costa Rica.
As to the truckers, Marco Murcia, president of the Asociación de Traileros de Costa Rica – truckers association – said that some 150 trucks are expected to take part in the protest, mainly in the area surrounding the Autoridad Reguladora de Servicios Públicos (Aresep) in Guachipelin, Escazu and later by the Courts in downtown San Jose.
The truckers are protesting the high cost of tolls, in particular on the Ruta 27.
Murcia said that the tolls paid by a trucker on a trip between San Jose and Caldera (the Pacific port) is ¢16,000 colones, “at a time of crisis and with little work it is too much they take from us.”
The truckers have the support of the Asociación Nacional de Empleados Públicos y Privados (ANEP) – the large and very influential public and private workers union.
Areas to avoid today:
- Downtown San Jose, in particular, the area around the Courts
- Casa Presidencial in Zapote
- Aresep offices in the area ofGuachipelin
- The ruta 27 between San Jose and Guachipelin and possibly between Coyol and Escazu, as many truckers may force their protest along the highway
- The autopista General Cañas
