Rome's taxi drivers have announced they will hold a 24-hour strike on Monday 14 July in protest at illegal cabs, taxis from other provinces and regions which pick up passengers in the capital, and concessions at airports which arrange taxi rides for travellers. From 06.30 the city's taxis, including those at train stations and at Fiumicino airport, will remain at their stands, while representatives go to the ministry of transport to complain about the abuses, which the drivers say are damaging their profession.

Taxi drivers are also protesting against the new highway code which officially came into force at the beginning of July. They say that the way the road signs are set up in Rome makes it impossible to keep to the new regulations. In particular the double white lines and the speed limit signs, say taxi drivers, need updating as they are impossible to respect without causing considerable upset to the taxi service.

On Friday 18 July it will be the turn of the truck drivers to protest the new regulations. They have called for a slow crawl along Rome's Raccordo Anulare, the city's ring road, and one of its main arteries but also one of the most accident-prone roads in the capital.