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Taxi drivers in Greece’s capital are set to walk off the job for two days in early February, as unions step up pressure on the government over the pace of the country’s shift toward electric vehicles and what they see as unfair competition in the transport market.
The Attica taxi drivers’ union, known by its Greek acronym SATA, said drivers in the Greater Athens region will stage a 48-hour strike on Feb. 3 and 4. The action is expected to disrupt taxi services across the capital, while drivers in Thessaloniki, Greece’s second-largest city, are also likely to join in.
As part of the protest, union members plan to march to the office of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in central Athens on the first day of the strike. The move follows a series of walkouts held in recent weeks over the same set of demands, indicating that tensions between drivers and the authorities have yet to ease.
According to SATA, recent compromise talks with the Transport Ministry did not lead to an outcome drivers could sign up to. In a statement, the union said discussions had failed to deliver meaningful concessions and called on the prime minister to intervene directly.
The statement included an appeal to Mitsotakis to “provide a solution to the just demands made by taxi drivers who are fighting for their survival,” a phrase that underlined the depth of concern within the sector as new regulations come into force.
At the heart of the dispute is Greece’s green transition policy for taxis. Since Jan. 1, all newly issued taxi operating licenses must be tied to electric vehicles, a rule designed to cut emissions in urban areas and align the sector with broader climate goals.
SATA argues that the timeline is too tight and has asked for the deadline to be pushed back by several years. Union leaders say many drivers are not in a position to switch to electric vehicles so quickly, pointing to the cost of new cars and the practical challenges of charging infrastructure, especially in a city as congested as Athens.
Beyond the electric transition, taxi drivers are also pushing back against what they describe as preferential treatment given to other driving service providers operating zero-emission vehicles. The union believes these competitors enjoy advantages that put traditional taxis at a disadvantage in the market.
Another long-standing demand involves access to public transport lanes. SATA wants taxis carrying passengers to be allowed to use bus lanes in Athens, where traffic congestion regularly slows down travel times. Drivers argue that such access would help them provide a more reliable service in a city known for crowded streets.
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