(13 Jan 2012)
1. Wide empty taxi driving along Via dei Fori Imperiali, the road leading to the Coliseum
2. Japanese tourists trying to stop taxi by waving their hands but taxi not stopping
3. Taxi stand sign in Piazza Venezia
4. Women leaving taxi stand because there are no taxis
5. Japanese tourists trying to stop taxi
6. Taxi driving away not stopping at stand
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Taro Lei, Japanese tourist visiting Rome:
(asked how long they had been trying to get a taxi)
"Well, maybe like 15 minutes now. We always see a line of taxis here so I am surprised there are no taxis now, I don't know why."
(Reporter question: do you know that there is a taxi strike?)
"Ah! No we are tourists, so we don't know, we wouldn't know there was a strike, OK that explains it. OK so we might have to figure out some other ways, huh?"
8. Street scene
9. SOUNDBITE (Italian) vox pop, Fausto Cervini, Rome resident:
"I think that doubling the number of (taxi) licences isn't effective, it will only cause them to start arguing with each other."
10. Taxi driving away on Via del Corso
11. SOUNDBITE (Italian) vox pop, Antonio Pasquini, Rome resident:
"I am against liberalisation (of taxi licensing) because there are enough taxis around at the station."
(Reporter question: Don't you think liberalisation is useful then?)
"I think that there are more urgent needs at the moment."
12. Taxi driving towards Piazza Venezia
13. Wide Piazza Venezia
STORYLINE
Italian taxi drivers staged an unauthorised strike on Friday to protest at plans by the government to open up their profession to outsiders to promote competition.
A national strike of all the taxi cooperatives in Italy had been organised on Thursday to take place on January 23, but a spontaneous partial strike was organised - unannounced and unauthorised - on Friday in Rome, Milan and Naples to protest against the liberalisation of taxi licences.
Residents and tourists in Rome found empty taxi stands on Friday.
Two Japanese tourists were unaware of the strike, and had grown increasingly frustrated trying to flag down a taxi at one of Rome's busiest taxi stands, in Piazza Venezia.
"Ah! No we are tourists, so we don't know, we wouldn't know there was a strike, OK that explains it. OK so we might have to figure out some other ways," Taro Lei said, when it was explained to him that there was a strike.
The liberalisation measures, which the Italian government expects to implement by the end of the month, would increase the number of taxi licences and reduce prices.
But some residents were sceptical.
"I think that doubling the number of (taxi) licences isn't effective, it will only cause them to start arguing with each other," said
Rome resident Fausto Cervini.
Another local, Antonio Pasquini, thought there were already enough taxis.
"I think it's bad, I am against the liberalisation cause I always see a lot of taxis around and at the taxi stations. I think there are more useful things to look at now, this is not a priority," he said.
Prime Minister Mario Monti's unelected government, which came to power two months ago to try to save Italy from financial ruin, has passed tough austerity measures aimed at reducing the country's massive public debt.
It is now focusing on a second phase of measures to boost economic growth, including opening up professions that traditionally restrict newcomers, like cab drivers and pharmacists, to encourage competition.
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