“What you do, wouldn’t work for me, but I congratulate you because you do what you think you need to do”. With that phrase, Adrián, a pirate taxi driver, begins a friendly chat with Lolo Ruiz, a taxi driver from Ibiza and member of Élite Corsaris. The conversation, recorded and shared on Élite Corsaris‘ TikTok channel, already has nearly 200 ‘likes’.
The disappearance of pirate drivers would be “detrimental”
Adrián asks for permission to get into Ruiz’ vehicle and justify his claim, to which the taxi driver accepts. For the pirate, the disappearance of his group would be “detrimental to everyone”, because it would allow platforms like Uber to enter the island to solve the transportation problem it suffers. “The fault lies with the politicians. This year more taxis should have been released,” Ruiz then criticizes, in which Adrián agrees, but admits that “as long as more white [cabs] aren’t released” they will continue to exist. “If people wait an hour sometimes, and there is us who are like 300, imagine if we weren’t here”, warns the pirate, to which Ruiz replies: “I know, I know”.
Both drivers agree that the problem is the lack of supply for the high demand. According to Adrian, at least by charging more, the pirates do not take work away from cab drivers. “Nobody will take me if you are free,” he says. However, he assures that if Uber enters the island, the situation will be even worse for taxi drivers. “If Uber comes in, which charges less, it will take your job,” the pirate warns Ruiz. “You’re right, you’re partly right”, admits the cab driver.
For the full article, please visit Diario de Ibiza website here.