Government passes ridesharing regulation; drivers to sue cabinet

The Catalan government has passed a new decree setting a minimum pre-booking period of 15 minutes for ridesharing firms like Uber and Cabify, which companies have already announced they'll bring to court.

The decree allows for municipalities to set additional times if they see fit  –a new addition as a result of the recent taxi strike. The Barcelona metro area has committed to lengthening the necessary waiting time to one hour, which ridesharing firms deem as excessive.

Taxi drivers have accepted the regulation, but threatened to protest again if the government does not "deliver on its promises."

Action to be taken against government

Shortly before the announcement, the employees of such firms, who had been blockading Barcelona's Diagonal Avenue for some 10 days lifted their protest, but said that in the coming days they will decide on taking new action against the decree.

One of them will be filing 19 criminal lawsuits against government members and other institutions for breach of duty.