WORLDWIDE TAXI FOCUS from Greece


GREEK TAXI DRIVER DROVE HIS CAR FOR ALMOST 3 MILLION MILES


A cabbie has racked up nearly 3 million miles just by doing his job. Gregorios Sachinidis has driven 2,850,000 miles in his 1976 Mercedes-Benz 240D, which he has used solely for work over 23 years. During that time, he drove around several national celebrities, politicians and sports stars. The taxi was also used to transport goods to war-torn Serbia. He recalled: “When I took the taxi, there were a few Mercedes circulating in Greece. I had spoke German, as I lived in Germany for 15 years, so I worked with travel agencies which sent me clients to transport within Greece, but also to surrounding countries. “I transferred businessmen to Skopje, Germany, Banja Luka, I went eight times to Turkey and more than 90 times to Bulgaria. “In 1993, I crossed war-torn Yugoslavia, accompanying a truck with humanitarian aid to Belgrade.” In 2004, he was asked to donate his car to the Daimler-Benz museum in Stuttgart, Germany, to which he happily obliged. In return, he was gifted a brand new C-Class. Had he kept driving the car at 100,000 miles per year, the odometer would be nearing five million miles.


from France


PARISIAN CABBIES DEMAND OLYMPIC COMPENSATION FOR LOSS OF REVENUE


French taxi drivers are calling for government compensation after suffering significant revenue losses during the Paris Olympics. Taxi unions claim that traffic disruptions, venue closures and a decline in regular customers due to the Games have had a devastating impact on the industry


PHTM SEPTEMBER 2024


which the additional visitors had failed to make up for. In a letter to the transport ministry, taxi unions said the Games had been “hugely disappointing” for licensed drivers of which there are 20,000 in Paris alone. They are demanding a compensation fund to cover income lost during the seven-month period leading up to and including the Olympics during which public spaces were being taken over for the Games. Transport Minister, Patrice Vergriete, responded by allowing taxis to access previously restricted areas, the so-called “red zones”, around Olympic venues and once the high-security opening ceremony was over, several safety measures were lifted and traffic became more fluid, the minister said. However, taxi drivers argue that this measure comes too late to mitigate the overall financial damage. With the government encouraging residents to go on holiday or work remotely also contributing to a significant drop in business, some drivers have reported income losses of up to 50%. The taxi industry joins other sectors, including retail and hospitality, in criticising the negative impact of the Olympics on the French economy.


from Germany


TAXI DRIVER RAMPAGES THROUGH COLOGNE STRIKING FOUR WOMEN


A 44-year-old Jordanian taxi driver has been arrested after allegedly driving his cab through Cologne’s old town, injuring multiple pedestrians last month. The incident occurred shortly after 10pm on 5 August, when the driver, from Velbert, is said to have deliberately struck two women, aged 22 and 23, with his VW Passat. He then continued his rampage, hitting two more women near the Rhine River, while a fifth managed to escape unharmed. A 27-year-old woman is fighting for her life with serious injuries. A heroic waiter, 34, intervened to detain the driver until police arrived. The man risked his own life to tackle the oncoming taxi, suffering minor injuries. Cocaine and cannabis were found inside the taxi, and the driver is undergoing blood tests. Police are investigating a potential link to a similar incident in Essen earlier that evening, where a pedestrian sustained life-threatening injuries.


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