Ride-hailing services will slowly disappear in Barcelona due to new taxi law

The new taxi law announced by the Catalan government will reduce the number of ride-hailing services available across Barcelona's metropolitan area (AMB) as soon as their license expires.

The VTC (vehicles de transport amb conductor—private hire vehicle in English) will start disappearing and will be listed in a new category 'VTC d'Alta Disposició' (high availability ride-hailing services). The register will list all the current VTCs which will have to be booked two hours before the, minimum, one-hour service.

The Catalan government believes that the new law will result in around 600 fewer urban licenses, although they back a slow transition. Due to judicial rulings, 300 vehicles will be able to continue operating until their licenses expire.

The new law requires a location-based device to guarantee that taxis and VTCs do not commit any irregularity. During the Mobile World Congress tech fair, VTCs will enjoy temporary licenses.

Works started in 2019, when the Catalan territory department was led by the pro-independence Junts. They continued with the pro-independence Esquerra Republicana and concluded with the Socialists' cabinet. Since then, there have been several taxi slow drives across Barcelona. Cabify, as one of the largest ride-hailing services in Barcelona, has constantly protested the city's "mobility problems." 

Taxi labor unions met with the ministry on Tuesday afternoon regarding the new legislation.

Barcelona has 10,500 taxi licenses and 990 urban ride-hailing services (such as Uber, Cabify, and Bolt). Meanwhile, in Catalonia, there are 15,000 cabs and 4,074 VTCs.

With the new legislation, taxis will continue to offer services between cities across Catalonia, but VTCs cannot drive passengers from towns within the AMB area. For example, a ride-hailing service will not allow any Barcelona passenger to book a trip to Barcelona airport with a 10-minute notice.

The legislation favors the taxi industry; however, it will still have to follow several requirements, such as offering equality, nondiscrimination, quality, and secure services. Taxis will not be able to reject any service or cancel it based on the price.

Sources in the Catalan territory ministry state that they would like to file the law as soon as possible, so it can start its parliamentary procedure. However, no schedule has been announced.

Élite Taxi celebrates new law 

The spokesperson for Élite Taxi, Tito Álvarez, has welcomed the proposed new law saying that it marks "the beginning of the end" for VTCs, as they will no longer be allowed to offer trips in the city.

In comments to the Catalan News Agency (ACN), Álvarez expressed satisfaction with the contents of the bill, saying it will also help put an end to "bad practices" within the taxi sector, such as some drivers negotiating off-the-books fares outside nightclubs and concerts.

Álvarez described the law as "pioneering" at the global level, emphasizing that the introduction of a tracking system in vehicles will effectively end what he called the current "free-for-all" in the sector.

VTCs threaten court action

The day after the proposed law was made public, the ride-hailing services’ association, Unauto, announced that they would take the matter to court if the law is approved, seeking €80 million in compensation for patrimonial damages.

Along the same lines, the VTC union has called for a demonstration on September 23 in front of the Territory Department headquarters in Barcelona.

Unauto president José María Berzal explained that the VTC sector has not met with the government since before summer and said the law was drafted "on their back."

"This would be a betrayal to the citizens of Barcelona and to all of us who come to the city because we love it, and to the millions of tourists who visit for conferences, cultural events, music, sports, and more," he said.

Berzal warned that if the law is passed, it would create a "severe problem," potentially resulting in the loss of 6,000 jobs.

Instead, he argued, if all licenses—around 4,000—could operate normally, the sector could generate up to 10,500 jobs and €445 million in revenue.

"Under no circumstances will we allow legislative overreach or give up any legal action. They want to wipe us out, and we will not stop defending what citizens freely decide," he added.