Taxi drivers on 'indefinite' strike to reject new regulations on Uber and Cabify

The taxi drivers in Barcelona have announced an immediate "indefinite" strike to reject the new regulations on companies such as Uber and Cabify.

This came on Friday around noon, after the Catalan government informed of the new proposed decree on the ridesharing firms to some representatives of the taxi drivers, which does not match their demands –yet their rivals also turned down the new regulation.

Government measures rejected by both sides

The Catalan cabinet proposes obliging firms such as Uber and Cabify to only accept services hired at least 15 minutes before.

Taxi drivers wanted these services to be hired at least six hours before, while ridesharing companies' sources said on Friday that measures like this one will mean their "end" in Catalonia.

What the government did accept from taxi drivers' requests is obliging their rivals to return to the base once they finish every service, as well as prohibiting firms like Uber and Cabify to geolocate their clients.

Actions by taxi drivers and ridesharing firms

Yet this was not enough for the main taxi drivers' trade union, Élite Taxi, which called an immediate strike during a protest including dozens of taxis parked on a road outside a Catalan governent building. 

In the afternoon they decided to occupy with their vehicles one of Barcelona's most important roads, the Gran Via. They already did it last July, during another protest for the same reason which lasted eight days.   

The ridesharing firms, known for its acronym in Catalan VTC, said they would take the decree to the courts if approved.