By Amanda Roberson Tico Times Staff

As part of a Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MOPT) initiative to target illegal taxi drivers, transit police in San José yesterday began fining them ¢26,000 ($51) and taking away their vehicle’s license plates, according to a statement from the ministry.

Article 323 of Costa Rica’s Commercial Code states that unlicensed taxi drivers may pick up passengers who have called them from a designated point, such as a home, office or park, explained the ministry’s spokesman Fitzroy Villalobos. These drivers are known as porteadores. However, unlike their red, licensed counterparts, these taxis may not pick up passengers who hail them from the street.

The fines apply only to unlicensed taxis seen picking up passengers on the streets, known as piratas, and are a measure to “sanction those who compete unfairly with official (red) taxis,” the statement said.

The ministry also supports a law proposed in the Legislative Assembly Feb. 28 to do away with the article allowing for porteadores (TT, March 3). The proposal, which has not been debated on the assembly’s main floor, drew thousands of unlicensed taxis to downtown San José that day to protest, arguing they should be allowed to work alongside their red counterparts.

“We want to eliminate the porteador figure,” Villalobos explained. “The bill is ready to be sent (to the main floor), but it seems to have gotten pushed aside. We support taking up this initiative again.”