According to the general secretary of Astpa, Mandanje Francisco, drivers from the companies Heetch, Yango, T'LEVA and UGO (taxi applications) intended to carry out a "progress" this Tuesday, but were prevented by the police due to lack of authorization from the provincial government of Luanda.
"We wrote to the provincial government, but they did not receive the letter, they claimed that the date was too close. We tried to submit it on Friday, but they refused to receive the letter", he said, adding that on October 6th the strike will take place from 6 am to 6 pm.
Despite the impediment, highlighted the secretary general of Astpa, the drivers were mostly concentrated in front of Cine Atlântico, some outside Heetch and others at Yango's facilities.
Mandanje Francisco said that the association, which has existed since 2017 and has around 5000 members, has registered numerous complaints from this class of drivers, regarding prices, affected by galloping inflation, and about the financial demands made by companies, as well as of the physical effort required.
"The class of app-based taxis was not covered by the gasoline price subsidy, which led to much greater difficulties," said the person in charge, highlighting that the complaints also have to do with the daily or monthly amount that each company demands from its customers. taxi drivers.
The person in charge also said that there are companies that require a monthly amount of 150 thousand kwanzas to 180 thousand kwanzas, which is possible to achieve, however, causing greater physical wear and tear.
"These services emerged to provide comfort, and demanding a target of 150 thousand kwanzas per week is exhausting, and puts the customer at risk, who sought comfort and security at the same time, in the private taxi service", he asserted.
The general secretary of Astpa revealed that, according to the association's statistics, there have been "many accidents with vehicles identified with the logos of application companies".
"Every week there are between two and three accidents, mainly on weekends. There have been weekends where we have recorded seven accidents, in one of which the two passengers lost their lives", said Mandanje Francisco, considering the accidents "abusive" company policies.
"Our idea is not to impose or tarnish [the companies], because these companies also have a very fundamental role. We just want to negotiate with them, one of them is Yango, we had the opportunity to write to them, they received the letter, we were called, we negotiated, but we were forgotten", he added.
The issue of security is also important, highlighted the person in charge, admitting that reports of robberies and deaths are a fact, calling on companies to consult the association before hiring drivers.
"With this, the companies themselves will benefit, because when the customer has a guarantee of security there will be greater adherence to the service", he stressed.
