Taxicab

Taxi fares in Istanbul will soon be hiked by around 9 percent for the first time in 18 months.

While the minimum fare will be raised from 2.95 Turkish Liras to 3.20 liras, the fare per kilometer will rise from 1.83 liras to 2 liras, according to a decision announced by Istanbul’s Chamber of Artisan Taxi Drivers on their website.

The mobile app for ride sharing and car hiring Uber is preparing to enter Bulgarian market, reports Dnevnik.bg. 

According to listings in the business social network LinkedIn and the company website, it is looking to hire a software engineer, general manager and a logistics and operations manager. Uber, however, has not replied to the official query of Dnevnik.bg on the matter. 

Nine Athens taxi drivers have been arrested for allegedly rigging their meters in order to make fares appear higher, police announced over the weekend.

A tenth cabbie was detained for tampering with his vehicle’s receipt dispenser so as not to issue customers with itemized bills.

The union representing the Greek capital’s taxi owners has called for the resignation of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and the government, warning that it is mulling action as the tourism season kicks into high gear unless their tax burden is reduced.

The Bulgarian Red Cross (BRC) will train 80 taxi drivers in first aid courses,   the BRC chairperson Hristo Grigorov told Focus news agency. 

The pilot courses will be in the next four months and initially will be only for taxi drivers in Sofia. According to Grigorov, if the courses prove successful, they will be transferred to the Health Ministry. 

A taxi crashed into a patrol car in Sofia early on Sunday morning, killing one police officer and wounding two others, said Bulgaria's Interior Ministry.

The accident took place at the intersection of Konstantin Velichkov and Slivnitsa boulevards. 

According to witnesses, the taxi car took the right of way of the patrol car, in which were travelling the three police officers.

Police in Halkidiki, northern Greece, said on Friday that they were seeking a 64-year-old man alleged to have swindled 3,600 euros out of two local taxi drivers by posing as an ambassador and promising them an exclusive cooperation shuttling diplomats to and from meetings.