Parliament majority expects to pass new taxi law in 2026

A majority in the Catalan parliament expects to pass the new taxi law in 2026. The largest group, the Socialists, the pro-independence parties of Junts, Esquerra Republicana, and CUP, and the left-wing Comuns will begin negotiations in the upcoming days.

The new legislation was discussed in the Catalan chamber on Thursday and parties in favour of the new law will now start debating its form to ensure it has enough support.

The five groups account for 107 of the 135 seats of parliament, far surpassing the 68-vote threshold for an absolute majority.

Socialist MP José Ignacio Aparicio said that it is important to have "open dialogue" with the taxi industry.

Junts, meanwhile, said they will appeal the current draft of the law. They propose a requirement of B2 level of the Catalan language to obtain a license, rather than the B1 stipulated in the draft law.

Spokesperson for left-wing Comuns, Lluís Mijoler, said that the new legislation is a "starting point," and CUP's leader, Laure Vega, said that it is important to protect the public sector.

Esquerra Republicana's Jordi Albert also praised the importance of the public sector and the need to guarantee the sector's linguistic rights.

The different groups understand that the parliamentary procedure will take time, but expect the law to come into force next year.

Banning Private Hire Vehicles

The new law is expected to slowly reduce the number of licenses for Private Hire Vehicles (PHVs), ride-hailing services such as Uber, in the Barcelona metropolitan area.

Private Hire Vehicles are known in Catalonia through the acronym VTC (Vehicle de Transport amb Conductor).   

Currently, there are around 1,000 such licenses in operation, and authorities will not renew them once they expire.

The legislation will create a new category of private hire vehicles named 'high availability', which must be booked at least two hours in advance and require a service of at least one hour. 

Platforms say 4,000 jobs at risk

Ride-hailing platforms Cabify, Uber, and Bolt have strongly criticized the proposed law on Thursday, saying the new regulations will lead to the loss of 4,000 jobs “overnight.”

In a joint statement, the companies also say citizens will also be harmed by fewer mobility options in Barcelona.

Cabify, Uber, and Bolt deny that PHVs compete with the taxi sector and say both can coexist.

Moreover, they have argued that Barcelona is the city in Europe with “the lowest ratio of PHVs and taxis per thousand inhabitants."

According to their calculations, there are 3.4 vehicles per 1,000 residents, placing it 2.1 points below Paris (5.5), less than half that of Lisbon (8.5) or Amsterdam (8.5), and far from the offer available in New York (11.3) and London (12.3).

The platforms have called on parties and the Catalan government to reconsider their plans and work on an alternative law that is proportional and takes the VTC sector into account.

According to the companies, the regulation should “guarantee the right to mobility,” “avoid the dismissal of thousands of workers,” and lay the foundations for the “mobility of the future,” which involves the electrification of fleets.