Drivers Protest

On January 22, 2010, taxi drivers made a protest near the administration of Lori region. The reason is the Government’s resolution according to which individual taxi drivers are obliged to execute a number of demands – the car exploitation period should not exceed ten years, the registration number should be in yellow, the cars should have a counter.

The taxi drivers demanded from the governor to allow them to work without yellow numbers and older cars. They also complained that the highway police always fine and take them to the penalty area. They complained that the state neither provide them with work nor allow them to find their work on their own in order to keep their families. “How can we survive with the AMD 20000 given by the state?”-the say.

A few drivers had a meeting with the governor Aram Kocharyan. They also met with the mayor of Vanadzor Samvel Darbinyan and MP Karen Saribekyan just by chance.

The governor advised them to apply to the government as in this case the issue was beyond his jurisdiction.

Karen Saribekyan told them to present him a written application, so that he was able to find a solution.

The mayor said he could not understand the essence of the issue and could not give a clear answer.

The drivers are going to protest until the problem gets a solution. They have also applied to HCA Vanadzor.