Georgia: Town councillor gives free taxi rides

A town councillor in Georgia is offering people free taxi rides to show he's serving the public, it's reported.

Zurab Sepiashvili sits on the council in the eastern town of Gurjaani, but he now spends four hours every Sunday ferrying people around in his car, which he's fitted out as a proper taxi, the local Gurjaani TV channel reports. "I want to show people that I am their servant," he tells the channel, adding that he thinks some politicians are acting like "masters". Mr Sepiashvilli says he's footing the bill for fuel himself, but that he's ready to give people a lift to anywhere in the country. And although he's a member of the Labour Party, the taxi is a politics-free zone; he says anyone is welcome, even members of other political parties.

It's gone down well among Georgians commenting on social media, with many people praising Mr Sepiashvilli's actions, and it seems the idea is catching on - another taxi driver tells Gurjaani TV he'll follow the politician's example and offer some free rides himself. But one local man is more sceptical, telling the channel he'll only believe it when he sees it.

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