The union for drivers with an LVC licence, like those who work for Uber or Bolt, is planning a new action in Brussels on Friday to denounce the confiscation of vehicles belonging to drivers from outwith the Capital Region.
Brussels implemented emergency legislation intended to allow some Uber drivers to keep working in the capital following a ban on the rideshare service. The measure is intended to last until the city can implement reforms for the taxi sector, scheduled for this summer.
But there have been differences in how that emergency legislation was interpreted. Traditional taxi drivers called for the city to keep a promise to forbid those without a Brussels licence from operating in the capital region, meaning the vehicles of those with Walloon and Flemish licences caught operating in the Capital Region would be confiscated.
But Uber says requirements for where a driver’s licence comes from were never part of the agreement and is bringing the matter before the Council of State.
The demonstration has been authorised by the police and will start on Friday at 08:00 on the Boulevard Pachéco, from where drivers will process to the offices of Brussels Mobility behind Botanique in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode and Brussels Minister-President Rudi Vervoort.
Operation ‘escargot’ to block traffic
If no solution is found with the cabinet, an “operation escargot” will be set up in which drivers move in the direction of the Brussels South Station, Place Schuman and the Yser district, moving as slowly as possible in order to cause traffic disruption, as was done last month.
In its press release, the union called for an “immediate halt” to the seizures of vehicles belonging to drivers with Walloon and Flemish licences who operate in the Capital Region, advocating instead for “a proactive search for political solutions for these Walloon and Flemish permit holders who have been operating in Brussels for years.”
The main reason drivers who only live and work in Brussels obtain a Flemish or Walloon licence is because it's cheaper.
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“These LVC operators and drivers are mostly Brussels citizens, with companies based in Brussels who pay their taxes in Brussels. It is clear that a political solution can and must be found for these self-employed workers so that no one is left out in the cold.”
The union is threatening to repeat the “operation escargot” next Friday if a solution to this situation is not found.
