Y-plate cab drivers met on Tuesday to air their grievances after reports that Transport Malta in now requiring them to park their vehicles in commercial garages. 

Until now, the drivers could use their private garages to house their Y-plate cabs. 

Some two dozen drivers met at Pembroke Park and Ride on Tuesday morning to discuss issues in the industry. 

"Transport Malta and LESA are picking on us," Ali Mharm, a 62-year-old driver, told Times of Malta. 

He said cab drivers were often treated 'like criminals,' being stopped at roadblocks on a daily basis and fined regularly.

"We are not thieves; we work every day," he said. 

The gathering was cut short after the group could not produce a police permit for the protest.

The Light Passenger Transport Association, a cab driver lobby group, had earlier distanced itself from the protest and told its members not to attend, calling instead for further talks with the authorities. 

"This protest will further create unnecessary tensions at this stage,"it warned.

"As an association, we recognize the efforts that are being done by the authorities in the sector together with the necessary changes to ensure sustainability for operators and consumers alike," LPOA said. 

But many still headed the call to protest, which spread around Facebook and chat groups. 

One of those present explained that cab drivers were being asked to prove, before their licence was renewed, that their cars were parked in public service vehicle garages.

"Many of us have one or maybe two cars," Mharm said, insisting that to date they could use their private garages.

The shadow minister for transport, Adrian Delia also highlighted the issue last week, saying that cab drivers were being "trampled on". 

He said that while it made sense that owners had to garage their Y-plated vehicles, it was too much that they were suddenly being told that the garages must be commercial. 

Operators who called Transport Malta for clarification were told to send a Facebook message to the authority where a link would be sent to explain requirements. 

Transport Malta then sent them a link to the Planning Authority's design policy guidelines, a 214-page document. 

The document says that public service vehicle garages must not be underground, must have an internal height that does not exceed 4.3 metres, and the doors must have a maximum height and width of four metres.

As of yet, the details of the Transport Malta policy are unclear. 

But replying to question, a spokesperson for the Transport Ministry said a declaration from the architect is now being requested as well to ensure that what is being declared is in fact correct.

"As part of various reforms to regulate this sector and to reflect the current requirements, we are considering further fine-tuning of the law in question in relation to parking spaces of such vehicles. Such tweaking would introduce a differentiation between small operators and those who operate on a larger scale."

The spokesperson said the reforms as well as the enforcement that took place during the past months are aimed towards this sector operating in a serious manner and in accordance with the law.

This includes that all drivers need to be in possession of a Maltese driving license or one that has been issued by a European Union member state.

In their Pembroke meeting, the drivers also complained that cab ride prices are too low and that the commissions taken by platforms such as Bolt, eCabs, and Uber are too high. 

"The owners of the apps only care about making money; they don't care about the drivers," one driver said. 

Mharm said that a 20 per cent commission was too high. 

"We are paying for the car, diesel and everything else," he said

A spokesperson for Bolt said that 20 per cent commission was "one of the lowest on the Island of Malta" and was the same rate it paid drivers in other EU companies it operates in. 

He said branded vehicles have a reduced commission rate of 14 per cent.

The drivers also complained about how even being reported once on the app cost them suspension and a substantial drop in earnings.

The Bolt spokesperson said, however, that suspension of drivers and riders depended on the frequency and the severity of the case being reported. 

"If a rider or driver feels they were wrongly reported, they are able to communicate with us at any time. Bolt has a dedicated team to assess the situation and clarify the way forward," the spokesperson said.