Taxi drivers threaten to block Barcelona airport and port to protest ride-hailing services
Catalan government says new taxi law is ready to be approved
Élite Taxi union has announced that they will block Barcelona's airport and port if the Spanish transport ministry does not solve their conflict with ride-hailing services (VTC).
The union is also demanding new regulations for VTCs before September 1. If those regulations are not ready, they will slowly march with their taxis around the airport to hinder access.
Spokesperson of the Catalan government, Patrícia Plaja, said that a law proposal is ready to be approved by the next government, which will make co-existence of taxis and VTC possible.
Plaja said that the proposal includes "most of the measures the taxi drivers are demanding."
"The government worked for months with all parties involved on a new law, it was almost done and would have been approved in June if it wasn't for the early election call," she added.
Slow march protest
Hundreds of taxi drivers organized a slow march through Barcelona on Tuesday to protest against ride-hailing services (VTC).
"Either they operate legally, or there will not be peace in Barcelona," Tito Álvarez, spokesperson of Élite Taxi union, told Catalan News Agency (ACN).
The union points at platforms such as Cabify, Uber and Bolt saying that if they want to operate in Catalonia, they should do it "within the rules that apply to everyone."
"They want a business model that we will not allow in Catalonia," Álvarez said.
The union has talked with representatives of Spain's transport ministry and will have another meeting "at the highest level" with officials after the European elections on June 9 in Madrid.
The slow march through the Catalan capital ended with an assembly on Passeig de Gràcia at approximately 12pm.