Mañanas BLU con Néstor Morales · Bumbox Podcast

No es contra Uber, Didi o Cabify: taxistas en Bogotá protestan por reclamos a Taxi Imperial

April 9, 2026·24 min·1 clip

Taxi driver Jaime Herrera explains why his protest at Bogotá's airport targets his own company's new manager, not Uber or Didi.

1. Mañanas BLU con Néstor Morales on Blu Radio covers a protest by yellow taxi drivers that blocked El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá the previous night. 2. Jaime Herrera, a driver from Taxi Libres affiliated with Taxi Imperial, is reached by phone from El Dorado airport and explains the protest's origin. 3. The dispute is not with rideshare platforms such as Uber, Didi, or Cabify — it is an internal conflict within Taxi Imperial triggered by new management under Julio Jiménez, who took over one month before the broadcast. 4. Herrera explains the new rules: fleet owners with five vehicles can only drive one personally; Jiménez's management takes revenue control of the remaining four, paying drivers 15-20 days later. 5. A 150,000-peso daily fine applies to any vehicle that misses a working day, regardless of whether the driver earned 100,000 pesos that day — a rule Herrera calls financially punishing. 6. Yellow taxi drivers pay 532,000 pesos per month for a licensed parking space at El Dorado, but Herrera says white vans operated by American Visa Tours are taking those spaces, leaving yellow taxis with nowhere to queue. 7. Herrera alleges that Opain personnel in red jackets are actively directing passengers away from yellow taxis toward the white special-service cars, telling them yellow taxis are unsafe. 8. The white cars charge 160,000 pesos for routes that yellow taxis cover for 60,000 pesos; Herrera says passengers pay because Opain staff actively discourage yellow taxi use. 9. Julio Jiménez, reached live by Morales, confirms he drove a taxi for 14 years and was himself a co-founder of a 600-worker company before taking over Imperial management one month ago. 10. Jiménez acknowledges that 80% of El Dorado airport taxi services are already lost to illegal platforms and unregulated transport, and argues the new model is needed to recover those customers. 11. Jiménez states that 800 of 1,200 drivers have already signed on to a new formal employment model with legal work contracts and salary — which he says is the first time in 30 years taxi drivers have received full labour rights. 12. The white special-service cars are owned by American Visa Tours, a company with which Jiménez says he is affiliated; he declines to confirm whether he is a personal owner, citing threats to his family. 13. Morales confronts Jiménez with a listener message revealing that a white car driver quit because the vehicles carry audio and video microphones recording passenger conversations. 14. Jiménez confirms the in-vehicle audio and video recording, saying it requires passenger authorization at the time of invoicing and is connected to police surveillance for security purposes. 15. Morales asks who guarantees the microphone is actually off; Jiménez answers 'us, from the central' — a response Morales leaves without further challenge. 16. Jiménez claims the 150,000-peso fine Herrera described does not exist as he described it, and says his goal is to eventually eliminate the monthly 532,000-peso fee drivers pay Taxi Imperial. 17. The interview reveals that Taxi Imperial receives the airport operating concession from Opain, the El Dorado airport manager, but Jiménez declines to describe the financial terms of that arrangement as confidential. 18. The tone is confrontational; Morales asks both parties sharp follow-up questions, reads listener messages on air, and explicitly summarises Jiménez's contradictions back to him. 19. Colombian listeners interested in urban transport regulation, labour rights, and airport service quality will find the episode directly relevant. 20. Listeners unfamiliar with Bogotá's taxi industry structure, the Opain concession system, or Colombian peso price points will need additional context to follow the financial details.

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