Andrea Boitani 05/14/2007 - Article from www.lavoce.info
Good intentions, malevolent interpretations and negotiations failed
Rome mayor Walter Veltroni, during his successful campaign for re-election, stressed the need to improve public transport services in Rome, from collective to individual ones such as taxis. Minister Bersani, by Decree Law 223/2006, issued shortly after the establishment of the Government, had given the mayor of Rome (and of course all the mayors of Italy) at least a good tool to improve the taxi service. The decree provided for an exception to the non-overlapping of taxi licenses and introduced the possibility for municipalities to "sell" licenses, distributing a large proportion of income to the old taxi drivers who had not purchased a new license. The reaction of cab drivers, especially in Rome, was tough. The particular target was the exception to the rule against aggregation, which would have allowed the initiation of a development "industry" sector, which is strongly opposed by the taxi drivers are current and want to stay "owners" (and few). The malicious say that the mayor of Rome, concerned about the traffic jams caused by drivers, have contributed to the "mediation" that led - in the conversion of the decree - to reaffirm the non-overlapping. The same malicious Veltroni think that maybe it would acquire sufficient credentials to get the increase in the number of cars in circulation, while maintaining "social peace". Without giving credence to the malicious, the fact is that once encased the non-overlapping and signed a lucrative agreement on tariff "predetermined" (42 €) between Fiumicino Airport and any address within the Aurelian Walls, the Roman taxi drivers did not accept that the actual conduct of additional shifts - required by the City and reluctantly accepted category - were subjected to "appropriate forms follow-up system, as required by the decree into law (L. 248/2006). The mayor and his council are well past the attack, deciding to release thousands of new licenses. That sounds good.
new license, but how? The resolution came
No 584 of November 2, 2006 stated that the licenses should be issued free of charge. Was thus set aside the possibility offered by the "Decree Bersani "to sell the licenses, and use the procedure already adopted in 2005 to issue 300 new licenses. The procedure involved a" competition for qualifications and tests ". The examination consists of a series of multiple choice quizzes on subjects relevant to a taxi driver (from urban place names with national and regional taxi) and is passed if the candidate obtains at least a score of 36 out of 60 questions each worth one point. The securities consist of certificates of study achieved (8 points for the secondary school diploma, 12 for three-year degree, 15 degree for five years without the possibility of aggregation), their length of enrollment in the role of drivers of Rome (0.25 points per semester); unemployed since 1993 (1 point per quarter, up to a maximum of 20 points), work as a substitute to drive taxi, also from 1993 (0.03 points per day); children dependent children (2.5 points each, with a maximum of 10 points), and custodial services have been integrated public transport line (2 points for each year since 1998).
and Education Corporation in Rome
Each license is worth around € 200 thousand, then the City - on phasing out thousands of new licenses for free - decided, in effect, to give a significant sum to some citizens of which, with the definition of securities and the weight attached to them, trace the features. The preference seems to be going to those who have already put one foot in the corporation but is not entered at all (the substitutes to drive) and the unemployed, educated and with many children. Who is writing the role since 1993 and has played in the past fifteen years 500 days replacement at the helm can boast 22.5 points, increased to 32.5 points with four dependent children and 37.5 points with ten quarters of unemployment. Graduates with a four dependent children reach 25 points, can be increased up to 35 if he has accumulated 20 quarters of unemployment. The 300 licenses issued in 2005 and banned by many controversies (1) are almost all gone substitutes to drive (usually relatives of the old taxi drivers). But the number of these subjects is not unlimited and many areas now open to graduates and unemployed graduates. The education and large families are good things and it is possible (because taxi drivers usually have a real passion for the exchange of views with clients) that a taxi driver with a more enjoyable read of the same with a wild ride. The fact remains that the mismatch between education and job is not exactly a good example of allocative efficiency and that a large presence of new drivers with probable degree is not helping to bring down the wages of the reserve category. And because the high reservation wages of taxi drivers is guaranteed by the numerus clausus, it is reasonable expect that the choice of the City of Rome will have the effect of making it even more difficult in the future, increase licensing and industrialize the area.
Discrimination and "devil's dung"
It should be added that the law of the Lazio Region No 58 of 1993 stipulates in Article 17, to register for the public role of drivers of cars and therefore have the right to participate in the contest to win a taxi license, you must be an Italian citizen or a European Union country. The non-EC can therefore participate in the prize draw. So much for equal opportunity and the objective of promoting integration and social integration of immigrants. Of course, the Money will also be the devil's dung, or at least that seems to be the perception of them most Italian politicians, but the experience of many centuries has shown that selling scarce goods in exchange for money has a less distorting than those that occur with the largesse of the Prince or the application of questionable criteria of rationing. In addition, the benevolent Prince can use the money raised to make a redistribution once more focused and more transparent than ad hoc weights to get fixed in a competition based on qualifications and examinations. "Do not consoled by the thought that the City of Milan ( fifteen years ruled by the center) is about to follow the road to Rome (from the same time governed by the center).
(1) Some of the recipients were found to have a criminal record.
