Cuba ending nine-year ban on new private taxis

[Bacchus39]

Cuba ending nine-year ban on new private taxis

HAVANA, Cuba – Cuban officials say they are ending a nearly decade-long ban on new licenses for private taxis — and they will even let cabbies set their own fares.

The rules newly published in the official gazette also will allow private jitneys in rural areas, though they will be under greater restrictions than city taxis.

Many car-owning Cubans already offer pirate taxi services, but run the risk of having their cars confiscated if they are caught.

The new rules appear to add a dose of the free market to help the communist system's struggling transportation system. Officials in earlier years cracked down on private taxis, accusing them of fomenting a black market in fuel.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090112/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/cb_cuba_freeing_taxis;_ylt=Ak3wlG7qujJIc7IMLvlLawG3IxIF