Traffic Chaos In Valencia As 3,000 Taxis Demand Tougher Controls On Uber And Cabify

Up to 3,000 taxi drivers were called to return portion successful a monolithic objection successful Valencia connected Tuesday November 4, demanding tougher regulations and stricter inspections connected ride-hailing companies specified arsenic Uber and Cabify, which they impeach of operating pinch unfair advantages.

The protestation moved successful 2 slow-moving columns, organised by moreover and overseas registration numbers, entering nan metropolis centre from Avenida de Aragón and Pío XII. The convoy caused awesome postulation disruption, pinch agelong queues and tense exchanges pinch drivers who were unaware of nan protest.

“We are facing sadistic title and nary 1 is protecting us”

Javier Martínez, a taxi driver for 19 years, said he is “outraged” by what he calls unfair title from VTC companies.

“These multinationals salary hardly immoderate tax, their drivers activity pinch minimal regulation, and their security costs are lower,” he said.

“While we’re present protesting, their algorithm charges customers 3 times nan normal fare.”

Further backmost successful nan convoy, different driver, Pepe, follows slow while watching nan breaking news astir nan resignation of president Carlos Mazón connected nan surface wrong his cab. Some drivers show signs criticising location carrier councillor Martínez Mus, whom they impeach of “choking” nan sector.

“They should run only betwixt municipalities, not wrong nan city. But nary 1 stops them. We’re competing nether wholly unequal conditions,” he said, arsenic nan convoy headed towards nan Town Hall, earlier continuing connected to nan location Directorate of Transport.

Rapid emergence of VTC licences

The taxi assemblage insists that nan equilibrium has changed dramatically:

Around 3,000 taxi licences presently beryllium successful nan metropolitan area of Valencia.

The number of VTC licences has much than doubled successful conscionable 4 years.

2020: astir 500 licences

2024: much than 1,200 progressive VTC vehicles

Digital ride-hailing platforms person expanded quickly crossed nan city, a inclination that taxi drivers opportunity is saturating nan market.

They are calling for a “fair and sustainable mobility policy” that protects self-employed drivers and ensures nan endurance of taxis arsenic an basal nationalist carrier work successful municipality areas.

The conflict betwixt taxi assemblage and platforms specified arsenic Uber and Cabify has escalated

Across Spain, nan conflict betwixt nan accepted taxi assemblage and VTC platforms specified arsenic Uber and Cabify has escalated into a nationwide confrontation. Taxi associations pass that nan accelerated maturation of VTC licences—fuelled by ample finance costs and elastic labour models—has created an uneven playing field.

While taxis are taxable to strict regulation, fixed tariffs, and costly licences, VTC vehicles run pinch less limitations, peculiarly successful municipality areas. Drivers reason that this imbalance threatens their livelihoods and undermines decades of nationalist work regularisation designed to guarantee transparency, safety, and user protection.

Spanish authorities nether pressure

Regional governments crossed nan state person reacted differently, creating a patchwork of laws that alteration from 1 autonomous organization to another. In immoderate cities, VTC vehicles are only allowed to run intercity routes, while successful others they move freely successful municipality centres, intensifying competition.

Taxi unions are now pressing nan Spanish authorities to instrumentality a nationalist mobility model that sets accordant rules and curbs what they telephone “predatory description ” by multinational platforms. Without a unified law, they warn, protests for illustration those seen successful València will proceed to dispersed to different awesome cities.