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Taxi drivers in Spain are striking\u00a0today in cities including Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia to protest at what they see as the\u00a0exploitative practices of ride-hailing transportation apps Uber and Cabify<\/a>.<\/p>\n Cab drivers\u00a0in Barcelona are staging a 24 hour strike\u00a0and\u00a0will be taking their distinctive black and yellow cars\u00a0to Madrid to take part in a demonstration in the centre of the city planned for midday, according to El Pais<\/a>. A shorter taxi strike also took place in Valencia this morning.<\/p>\n It\u2019s the second such anti-Uber demonstration in Spain, and follows the company\u2019s\u00a0limited re-entry into the market last year in Madrid, with a version of the Uber\u00a0service that uses\u00a0only licensed drivers.<\/p>\n Uber\u00a0has not sought to reintroduce the ability to hail a ride from non-professional drivers in the market.\u00a0Nor does it\u00a0currently offer its carpooling service, UberPool. But it looks to be playing a longer game of attrition in the market \u2014 focused on lobbying for regulatory change so that it could reintroduce other services in future.<\/p>\n In the first instance\u00a0Uber is seeking\u00a0to get a cap removed on the number of licenses for private hire vehicles \u2014 currently set at one per 30 taxis \u2014 to enable more\u00a0Ubers to\u00a0operate. Hence taxi drivers being\u00a0angry.<\/p>\n Anger\u00a0has also apparently been directed\u00a0at Uber rival Cabify, which has claimed it\u2019s been the target of various acts of aggression\u00a0\u2014 including having nine of its cars set on fire in Sevilla earlier this month<\/a>.<\/p>\n In a blog post on its Spanish website<\/a>\u00a0yesterday Uber\u00a0argued\u00a0that eliminating the cap on the VTC licenses necessary to rent a vehicle with a driver would \u201creduce urban transport prices, create thousands of jobs and favor more sustainable cities\u201d. Earlier this month it also published a report<\/a> it commissioned which\u00a0claims there would be\u00a0\u201csignificant economic and environmental benefits\u201d flowing from the\u00a0liberalization of VTC licenses.<\/p>\n The background here is that in December 2014<\/a> a Madrid judge ordered Uber\u00a0to cease all activity in the city, following a legal challenge by a local taxi association on\u00a0unfair competition grounds. Later that same month<\/a> Uber suspended the UberPop ride-sharing service after receiving a court injunction \u2014 taking a rather different tack\u00a0vs its earlier combative default, when it had vowed<\/a> repeatedly to ignore court orders banning its services in multiple markets.<\/p>\n Instead it\u2019s focused on complying with local transport regulations\u00a0and only offering a limited service where it can while it tries to lobby for regulatory change.<\/p>\n In Barcelona in 2015 the city government changed the law<\/a> to block\u00a0Uber, bringing in big fines and the ability for police to impound infringing cars for three months \u2014 measures which have essentially kept the service off the streets. Although Uber\u00a0did launch UberEats in the city in 2014, presumably to try to keep a\u00a0pool of drivers \u2018warm\u2019 in the hopes of a favorable\u00a0regulatory shift in the future.<\/p>\n But it ended up pulling the service later in the same year<\/a> \u2014 saying it wanted to concentrate on working with cities to change the rules around passenger transportation services, and \u2014 in its words \u2014 \u201cfacilitate a new model in Spain that contributes to the improvement of urban mobility and offers new job opportunities to thousands of people\u201d.<\/p>\n One Barcelona taxi driver we spoke to yesterday who was planning to strike today held no truck with Uber\u2019s\u00a0claims of socio-economic benefits, denouncing what he described as the company\u2019s exploitative labour practices. He also claimed Uber\u00a0is providing unrealistic earnings figures to try to lure new drivers onto its platform, and\u00a0is intentionally keeping prices low now to put pressure on taxis.<\/p>\n \u201cTaxis are a public service,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n La Vanguardia<\/a> reports that\u00a0the Spanish Taxi Federation has called for the creation of a publicly run digital platform to allow customers to book a taxi anywhere in Spain \u2014 to improve \u201cthe quality and competitiveness\u201d of the service and to focus it on tourism as a strategic sector.<\/p>\n It also wants public-private funding to help drivers leave the profession and retrain. The group\u00a0intends to present their\u00a0ideas in a document they will hand to\u00a0Congress today, following the march\u00a0in Madrid.<\/p>\n In a statement about the\u00a0taxi strike, an Uber spokesperson told us: \u201cWe respect the right of the taxi sector to demonstrate. But it is undeniable that urban mobility is changing very quickly across the world. We want to address a fair transition process with the public administration and taxi sector that promotes a new model of mobility in our cities, but also ensures that no one is left behind.\u201d<\/p>\n Two more strikes are planned by Spain\u2019s taxi drivers for July, according to Euro Weekly.<\/a>\u00a0A Barcelona taxi association spokesperson told it the group\u00a0has\u00a0not ruled out an indefinite strike.<\/p>\n Featured Image: oatsy40<\/a>\/Flickr<\/a> UNDER A CC BY 2.0<\/a> LICENSE<\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"\"](\"https:\/\/tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com\/2017\/05\/6942029345_98470d82a5_b.jpg?w=680\")
Taxi drivers in Spain are striking today in cities including Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia to protest at what they see as the exploitative practices of ride-hailing transportation apps Uber and Cabify. Read More<\/a><\/p>\n\n<\/img><\/a>
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