Drivers advocate for ride-hailing service jobs at protest

Ride-hailing drivers protested in front of the Territory Department headquarters in Barcelona on Tuesday. 

Earlier this month, the Catalan government announced a new law that will require VTCs (vehicles de transport amb conductor, or private-hire vehicles) to be booked two hours in advance and last a minimum of one hour. The law favors the taxi industry and prohibits VTCs from driving between municipalities in Barcelona's metropolitan area. 

VTC advocates say the law unfairly targets their jobs. Banners at Tuesday's protest called out Barcelona mayor Jaume Collboni and Catalan parliament member Sílvia Paneque. "You will be guilty for the loss of 4,000 jobs," read one. 

The protest was organized by Sindicato Libre de Transporte, a Spanish transport union, and the Unauto ride-hailing services' association. 

Valery, a protestor from Madrid, said he came to support his coworkers in Barcelona.  

"We are drivers that provide a service just like taxis," he told Catalan News. "But we have always been at odds with taxis."

Barcelona has 10,500 taxi licenses and 990 VTCs (Uber, Cabify, Bolt). In Catalonia as a whole, there are 15,000 cabs and 4,074 VTCs.

Unauto has vowed to challenge the proposed anti-VTC law in court if it moves forward.