INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Taxi drivers in major cities in Spain are on strike again to apply pressure for more stringent regulations to control app rivals such as
Uber and Cabify which they view as unfair competition.
In Barcelona the taxi sector called an indefinite strike on Friday, using their
vehicles to block Gran Vía in the Catalan capital, with protest action carrying on through the weekend and continuing into today.
Taxi
drivers in Madrid are also on strike from this morning.
De aquí no nos movemos hasta que nos den una solución.No admitimos promesas
Sólo realidades.No pueden dar la espalda a miles de familias que vivimos del taxi en Catalunya.No vamos a permitir el intrusismo y la
suplantación de nuestra profesión por buitres#EnElTaxiVamosTodxs pic.twitter.com/VcC3loEIrB
— Elite Taxi Bcn #1Vtc30Taxis
(@Elite_TaxiBcn) January 18, 2019
In Barcelona, the strike was called after the Catalan government announced proposals for regulating the
vehicle for hire (VTC) sector which include a 15 minute wait time between a passenger booking and being able to take a ride.
The taxi
drivers want the wait time to be much longer than that; at least 24 hours.
There were reports of violence during Friday action
The Huffington Postsaid a Cabify driver suffered a panic attack after his car was attacked by a group of protestors
It reports thepolice used cardiopulmonary resuscitation manoeuvers on the driver to stabilize him.
A journalist for El Paisalso posted a
video of the attack and resulting damage to the vehicle on Twitter.
Agresión a un #VTC #Barcelona #TAXi pic.twitter.com/vtz057ka7C
—
Alfonso Congostrina (@alfcongostrina) January 18, 2019
The AP reports that local police arrested seven people in connection with the
violence.
On Sunday, Elite Taxi BCN, one of the main associations backing the strike action, issued a video of its spokesman, Alberto
Álvarez, calling for protestors to keep things peaceful.
"Por favor, nada de violencia" @TitoEliteTx #EnElTaxiVamosTodxs
pic.twitter.com/1lIfL7kwLL
— Elite Taxi Bcn #1Vtc30Taxis (@Elite_TaxiBcn) January 20, 2019
The latest strikes follow a summer of action
by the sector which also kicked off inBarcelona, also with violent scenes and reports of attacks on VTC drivers.
In that case Uber and
Cabify temporarilypaused services in the city on safety grounds
The pair do not appear to have stopped their services this time.
Although some VTC drivers have been holding counter protests by parking
their vehicles along a stretch of Avenue Diagonal, causing further disruption to the flow of traffic in the city.
Les #VTC tallen part de
la Diagonal entre Francesc Macià i la plaça Pius XII
Dos carrils de sortida i un d'entrada a la ciutat
Els autobusos de les línies 6, 7, 33, 34, 63 i 67 no efectuen parada en aquest tram, en sentit Llobregat, segons TMB
#VagaTaxis pic.twitter.com/hYk80mVXi3
— Catalunya Informació (@Catinformacio) January 21, 2019
The taxi strike in the summer only ended
after the government agreed to transfer regulatory competency for the VTC sector to the regions.The Catalan government is the first regional
authority to have put forward proposals for regulating VTCs.
But the move devolving regulatory competency has not ended the ‘taxi war&
Far from it; it cranking up a gear as taxi associations demand a firewall for their sector by overruling the on-demand convenience of
app-based rivals which are counter protesting in the hopes of steering out of a looming regulatory bind.
The latter group argues that
imposed wait limits would be unconstitutional because they would go against the general interest of citizens
They also point out that waiting time based regulations have not been successfully enforced anywhere in Europe (London TfL proposed a five
minute waiting time after a booking back in 2015 but dropped the measure after a public consultation, for instance).
While the taxi sector
argues that existing laws aren&t being enforced meaning that a regulated public service is being unfairly undercut and undermined by
multinationals that also only bring precarious work, rather than sustainable employment…
¡SOMOS TAXISTAS NO TERRORISTAS!!!No
respondamos a la violencia de Uber y Cabify que se enriquecen a consta de precarizar a los trabajadores con violencia física.
No
respondamos al terrorismo de estado que pone una alfombra roja a estas compañías con más violencia.@TitoEliteTx
pic.twitter.com/Y3daqajq3B
— Elite Taxi Sevilla
(@EliteTaxiSevil1) January 19, 2019
In Barcelona the annual Mobile World Congress
tradeshow,which takes place in just over a month time — bringing an influx of around 100,000 techie visitors — is a strategic ratchet
for the taxi industry to pressure authorities
Threats to paralyze the city are at their most politically and economically potent
So there plenty of uncertainty about where the latest huelga indefinidawill lead.
If wait limits are imposed the VTC sector claims it would
result in scores of drivers being put out of work
Commenting on the Barcelona government proposals for regulating the sector, an Uber spokesman told us: &Recent developments could have major
consequences for drivers as well as the thousands of riders who enjoy new mobility services in the city
We continue to call for dialogue with all local stakeholders, including taxis, to shape the future of urban mobility in Spain
together.&
We&ve also reached out to Cabify for comment.
Unauto VTC, a VTC association, issued a press release on Saturday decrying the
blockade of the city and what it dubbed &intolerable levels of violence& by taxi associations, as well as attacking the &absolutely
disproportionate& proposed VTC regulations
It also denounced the local government minister in charge of the regulation, Damià Calvet, accusing him of caving in to taxi industry
&blackmail&.
&The Catalan Government umpteenth caving in to taxi sector blackmail has ensured it will no longer be satisfied with anything
other than the disappearance of the VTC sector
We hope the government rectifies this immediately and allows the general interest of the citizens of Catalonia to prevail,&said association
president, Eduardo Martín, in a statement (which we&ve translated).
&I wonder what the next thing Barcelona taxi sector will be asking for
under threat of blocking the Mobile World Congress
Maybe the Metro closes an hour earlier, or that the Aerobus disappears
In view of the attitude of the current Government of the Generalitat it is possible that they will achieve it.&
The city government pointed
us to a statement today, from the councillor for mobility and president of metropolitan transport, Mercedes Vidal, calling for an
&acceptable& proposal so taxis and VTC drivers do not do the same work.
