Y-plate drivers take to the streets to protest cab platform prices

Cab drivers are taking part in a slow-moving car cade on Wednesday morning, to protest the ‘predatory pricing’ in the sector.  

Workers are driving their cars through the streets of Malta, waving flags and honking their horn, to protest the pricing strategies of cab platforms.

The Light Passenger Operators Association said on Tuesday that the protest is being held to urge cab platforms in Malta to reevaluate their current pricing strategies.

“An independent operator puts forth time, energy and a financial investment in order to operate in the industry, and this is being undermined by predatory pricing based on an unsustainable business model, which is affecting the livelihood of the operator,” the association said in a statement.

Photo: MaltaToday

Protestors will be driving in a slow-moving car cade until reaching Marsa, where the demonstration will come to a close.

Opposition spokesperson for Transport Mark Anthony Sammut expressed solidarity with the Y-plate operators, pointing to a lack of government planning and alleged abuses in Y-plate licencing leading to small, self-employed operators leaving the sector.

"A minimum pricing threshold is essential for operators in this sector not to be abused. The government’s lax attitude in licensing and enforcement, zero planning, and management by crisis across the board, is causing havoc in the roads, and creating an unsustainable environment which is helping neither the operators nor the users," he said.