The taxi drivers' strike continues in Spain

Madrid – Taxi drivers in the main Spanish cities are organizing a strike and demonstrations today against the proliferation of VTC licenses (vehicles for rent with driver), pending the meeting that they will have the Ministry of Public Works.

In Madrid, taxi drivers leave the airport of the capital and the stations without service, where they only carry free and free elderly, sick, pregnant or with reduced mobility.

The first hours of the morning They pbaded without incident in the capital and the taxi drivers communicated with posters in Spanish and English to the travelers who arrived at the airport and to the stations another way to move in the city.

On the other hand, in Barcelona, ​​the city where protests began last week, about 1,500 taxi drivers have collapsed the city center and prevent traffic in the city . l Paseo de Gracia one of the main arteries of the city

The largest badociations and federations of the taxi sector meet today at the Ministry of Development and "according to the results there will be more demonstrations and we will maintain the call to strike, "said the secretary of the Union of Taxis of Catalonia (STAC), Antoni Cervós.

José Miguel Fúnez, communications officer of the Federation of Professional Taxis of Madrid, explained that they expect with "great expectations". "This meeting, but warned that if they do not respond to their demands the strike will become indefinite."

The demonstrations, which began in Barcelona, ​​are spreading to Madrid and other Spanish cities such as Malaga, Seville, Zaragoza, Valencia, Alicante, Mallorca or Bilbao, which record these months one of the highest levels of annual occupancy by summer tourism.

Taxi drivers demand that the regulation of the VTC, which operate through platforms such as Cabify or Uber, from the Spanish government to the autonomous communities (regions) and municipalities, which are those who deal with traffic problems , mobility and the environment.

They also require, as the law, VTC vehicles return to their base when they complete a service and do not remain outstanding or stationed while waiting to attract new customers, and he There is no more than one VTC license for thirty taxis, proportion which according to them

The general manager of Traffic, Pere Navarro, today asked the taxi drivers not to do pressure on tourists in the conflict that they raised because "we live tourism" and "affect economic activity".