Taxi drivers’ infractions more than tripled in January

Last month, the number of violations by taxi drivers last month was over three times higher than during the same month last year, according to data from the Public Security Police Force (PSP).

According to the figures, the police found 187 irregularities in January this year, compared to 61 in the same period last year.

The majority of cases (126) involved disrespecting the line at taxi stands, an offense that increased compared to last year, when only four such cases were reported.

Although the number of overcharging cases has been dropping in recent years due to the enforcement of new rules and the creation of hotlines to report such cases immediately, the cases recorded in January (6), although low in number, also represent a very significant increase year over year, as only two cases were reported in January 2024.

The PSP also found 32 cases of refusal to transport passengers (two more than last year) and nine unnecessary uses of longer routes. In the previous case, this number was the same as last year.

Due to the severity of some offenses, the PSP has reported 44 taxi drivers whose cases the Transport Bureau will follow, 20 more than in January 2024, an increase of 83.3%.

The PSP noted that January this year recorded, in general terms, fewer traffic offenses and road accidents than January last year. The fines dropped by 8.6% to 60,415, and the number of accidents dropped marginally (-0.4%) to 1,345.

Also noteworthy was that no deaths occurred in traffic accidents in January this year, and few people were injured. According to PSP data, 449 people suffered injuries in accidents, a reduction of 3.4% from 2024.

The only exception was the accidents involving pedestrians, which almost doubled (36 to 69 cases).