Motor taxis in Paris have been in use since 2001, spreading to other large French cities, but are now going to be regulated starting from April 1st.
The new law is not going down well with the operators and last weekend they organized a protest in Paris complaining that they are being discriminated against traditional taxi cabs.
The tougher legislation means that taxi riders will not allowed to go looking for fares, the way their four wheeled counterparts are, nor will they be allowed to park in front of the airport or train stations, unless they’ve been booked by a client and violations include one year in prison and a fine of 15,000 Euros.
Many taxi riders are afraid that they’ll loose a third of their business due to the new law (which also includes that motorcycles not be older than 3 years, with proof of regular maintenance) and that fate could await almost 40% of the existing moto taxis.