Naples, diesel fuel at €2,40, taxi drivers warn the Region: "Unsustainable rates, broken promises."

Naples – A daily blow at the gas pump threatens to shut down the engines of Neapolitan white cars. With the price of diesel now rising close to €2,40 per liter, the Basic Taxi Drivers Committee has broken the deadlock and sent a formal warning to the Campania Region's top officials, denouncing what it calls a "worrying institutional silence."

The dispute, which has been dragging on since last March through roundtable discussions and meetings at the Prefecture, has reached the point of no return. At the heart of the dispute is the commitment made by regional representatives during prefectural meetings: to verify the availability of funds to implement extraordinary financial relief and present a concrete plan by the end of September. With the calendar now running out, no summons has yet arrived from the halls of Palazzo Santa Lucia.

The economic impact on operators' family budgets is described as devastating. The current municipal rate schedule, based on outdated operating costs, is no longer sufficient to cover operating expenses. Each shift thus becomes a deadweight loss, eroding margins that support drivers' family incomes and jeopardizing the very continuity of an essential service for residents and tourists.

In a letter addressed to President Roberto Fico, Vice President Mario Casillo with responsibility for Transport, and Councilor for Productive Activities Fulvio Bonavitacola, the sector's representatives urge "moving from discussions to concrete action." Without immediate intervention on subsidies or a special review of operating costs, the alternative risks being a cut in service times or the beginning of a season of labor unrest in the middle of autumn.