Taxi strike in Oromia towns following a two day strike in the capital, cabs in Addis resume work Tuesday afternoon

ESTA News (March 1, 2016)

Taxis and other vehicles of public transportation in several towns in the Oromia region surrounding the capital Addis Ababa went on a strike on Tuesday. Holeta, Burayu, Ginchi, Ambo, Woliso, Asela, Bale and Robe were some of the towns hit by a massive transportation crisis. Some of the towns began the strike on Monday, on the first day of strike by taxi drivers in the capital Addis Ababa that brought the city to a halt. Even the scooters, the widely used form of transport in the smaller towns, locally known as “bajaj” were not to be seen in the streets.

There were some taxis available at midday today in Addis and more were seen in the streets later in the day. Several students missed classes and everyday commuters didn’t bother to leave home as there were no cabs in the morning. Traffic police were seen checking the IDs of drivers who came out in the afternoon.

Taxi drivers in the capital went on strike on Monday in protest against a new punitive regulation that would suspend drivers for a long period of time for minor traffic offences; and against the skyrocketing gas prices in the country that do not reflect the falling prices in the world market.

The government announced that the new regulations has been suspended for three months but the drivers want it scrapped altogether.