A three-hour taxi strike across the Canary Islands on Wednesday left thousands of tourists stranded, according to a report in the local press.
Many visitors to the islands complained that they hadn’t been warned about the strike, which started at 10am yesterday.
Taxi drivers, who are calling for politicians to block rising insurance costs, which they say have rocketed 200% to 300%, are now threatening a longer strike.
Wednesday’s stoppage led to long queues at taxi ranks, especially in tourist resorts in Gran Canaria, where visitors said they hadn’t been warned of the strike, even though the drivers had informed hotels.
In San Bartolomé de Tirajana, one of Gran Canaria’s busiest tourist areas, the majority of its 356 licensed taxis joined in the strike, said Canarian Weekly.
However, minimum services were maintained, ensuring that hospitals and health centres were not affected.
Fernando Falcón, Vice President of the Maspalomas Taxi Cooperative, said that if no action is taken against the rising insurance costs, taxi drivers might escalate their protest.
Canarian Weekly quoted him saying: “The next step will be a full-scale strike, not just three hours.”
