The new “Taxi Law” of Catalonia seeks to exclude VTCs
Barcelona is preparing for a new Law on the Transportation of People in Vehicles but it is very likely that if we call it that you will have no idea what it is about. If I tell you it’s the new one taxi law, Anti-uber law either Titus Law…things are changing now. And Barcelona tries to shield the taxi. And that, everything indicates, is close to expelling the VTC from the city. A first step. At the moment, what is on the table is the processing of the new Law on the Transportation of People in Vehicles. That is, the law that has to regulate what happens with the operation of VTCs and, above all, if the taxi is declared an asset of commercial interest to protect it against the operation of companies such as Cabify, Uber or Bolt. The debate began last Wednesday after the amendment to the entirety proposed by VOX was rejected, which had the intention of overturning the process to carry out the new regulation that It was presented for the first time last September. Without support and with the abstention of the Popular Party, the procedure will continue its course with the support of PSC, ERC, the CUP, Comuns and Junts. Although, as we will see, we have had a surprise. What is proposed? The intention of the political parties that have supported the processing of the new normal is to protect the taxi from companies such as Cabify or Uber that operate what are known as Transportation Vehicles with Drivers. That is, the VTC. To achieve this, different measures are to be taken: If new licenses have to be created, taxis will be prioritized If a new VTC license is created, it will expire after two years and will be non-transferable Temporary limitations may be imposed on VTCs if it is considered that there is excess supply. Limitation of the service to interurban areas which implies that, in Barcelona, they could not work within the AMB (their metropolitan area) which concentrates the vast majority of trips. In addition, other measures that would affect both VTCs and taxis have also been put on the table: Catalan level B1 for drivers GPS monitoring of vehicles to prevent abuse Introduction of environmental criteria for the creation of new licenses or the withdrawal of existing ones. In favor of the taxi. With these limitations, this new regulation begins to be known as Taxi Law due to the strong defense that is made of this service or as Titus Law because Tito Álvarez, spokesperson for Élite Taxi and who has led a large part of the demands and protests in recent years, is considered to be one of the people who has most influenced the new articles. The last vote on the VOX amendment paves the way for the regulation of the new regulations but, above all, it left the opportunity for political parties to express their opinion. PSC, ERC, the CUP and Comuns have made an expected defense of the sector, after supporting a review of the regulations, although the pro-independence parties defend that drivers have to speak at least B2 of Catalan. In favor of VTC. The support for VTC has come as a surprise. In addition to VOX, which proposed the amendment to the entire new normal, the PP, which abstained, has shown its disagreement by pointing out that “at peak times there are not enough taxis. The VTCs provide a great service”, in the words of Àngels Esteller, a PP deputy, reported by The Country. And, above all, the surprise has come with Junts. And the party supported the new text in September and has opposed the amendment to the entire VOX but has taken advantage of its intervention to position itself in favor of the “6,000 families that live off the VTC” for whom, says Montse Ortiz, Junts deputy, they will fight for modifications worked on through dialogue with the sector. We will guarantee the legal freedom of the sector.” Discrepancies in the taxi sector. As expected, VTC associations and companies have been against the application of the new standard. José Manuel Berzal, executive president of Unauto VTC, assures that the text lacks “legal rigor”, in words reported by The World. And he points out that there are “multiple inconsistencies and contradictions with European law and the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice of the European Union.” The latter is also pointed out from The Vanguardwho claim that a report presented by the Bosch i Gimpera foundation indicates that the text contravenes European law and that the Court of Justice of the European Union will end up overturning it “in a few years.” But what is most striking are the discrepancies within the taxi sector itself. They collect in The World either Taxi Gazette that Tito Álvarez, from Élite Taxi, proposes that VTC licenses can be exchanged for temporary taxi licenses, with a duration of seven years and the possibility of a new extension of one more year. A proposal that has been frontally rejected by other unions such as STC, who describe it as a “genuine insult” that benefits “those who have built their business by breaking the rules while the taxi did comply.” The implications. If the new measure goes ahead with the current proposals, it is expected that they will have an immediate impact on the VTC sector. According to the first calculations: Between 4,000 and 5,000 direct jobs could be eliminated It is estimated that with the new restrictions only 15% of current licenses would be maintained (it is estimated that there are about 4,000 throughout Catalonia) In Barcelona, 600 of the 990 current VTC licenses would be eliminated VTCs would disappear from large cities as they would only be able to make interurban journeys Photo | BYD and Logan Armstrong In Xataka | “I save about 7,000 euros a year on gasoline alone”: three taxi drivers tell us their experience with an electric taxi
