GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Fines of up to CHF10,000 have been issued to illegal minibus drivers after police in Geneva this spring pulled in for questioning 11 operators of illegal taxis making runs between the airport in Geneva and the ski resorts of Nendaz and Verbier. The group was identified thanks to close work between customs agents and several police.
The group of 10 Lithuanians and one Greek was uncovered after police in early February stopped a van on the A9 with Lithuanian plates that was carrying eight people. It’s illegal to operate a taxi service in Switzerland with foreign plates.
The van wasn’t licensed to transport groups in Switzerland and it didn’t meet Swiss road vehicle standards for carrying groups. That led to police stopping, during February and March, six vans with license plates from Lithuania, Latvia and France, a group making resort runs who didn’t have taxi licenses, nor were they properly equipped. Two of the vehicles were seized but returned to the owners once they paid import duty on them.