Fuel prices are rising, and Neapolitan taxi drivers are raising the alarm: "Prices are unsustainable, the Region must intervene."

Naples – The international crisis is squeezing the brakes and, more importantly, draining the fuel tanks of Neapolitan workers. The alarm has been raised by the Basic Taxi Drivers Committee, which has sent a formal letter to the Campania Region's leadership—addressed to the President and the Department of Transport—to denounce a situation that has now reached the point of being unsustainable.

The blame lies on the exponential increase in fuel costs, a direct consequence of recent critical issues and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

With prices at the pump now approaching the psychological (and material) threshold of two euros per liter, operating costs for white cars have skyrocketed, seriously hampering the daily operations of non-scheduled public transport.

The shadow of speculation and the grip of traffic

But the international geopolitical context isn't the category's only enemy. In its letter, the Committee points to two factors that are turning daily work into a veritable obstacle course. On the one hand, the concrete fear that price increases are hiding speculation by some fuel distribution operators; on the other, a very local issue: city traffic.

Naples' congested roads, in fact, force taxi drivers to slow down and make frequent stops, dramatically increasing fuel consumption and thwarting any attempt to reduce operating costs. This lethal combination, as the Committee's Board of Directors emphasizes, is having a severe impact not only on corporate budgets, but especially on the individual drivers' family budgets.

Faced with this scenario, taxi drivers aren't limiting themselves to protesting, but are also demanding immediate institutional intervention. The letter concludes with a request for an urgent meeting with representatives of the Campania Region. The goal is to sit down to discuss and identify concrete solutions that can protect the industry before the crisis permanently sidelines dozens of workers. The ball is now in the court of Palazzo Santa Lucia.