A judgment of the European Court of Justice (CJEU) released this Thursday questions the restrictions on the activity of rental cars with drivers in force in Catalonia. We are talking about those also known as VTC. The text indicates that their activity cannot be restricted in order to protect the viability of the taxi. It does open the door to limit it based on other reasons, such as pollution or the needs of urban mobility.
The dissemination of the ruling unleashed well-concealed delights in the offices of Cabify, Uber and Bolt, of the large applications dedicated to passenger transport that barely work in Barcelona. The truth is that everything is still up in the air, this tremendously convoluted story of judges, taxi drivers and politicians is still very far from its outcome. The day after tomorrow everything will continue the same. But suddenly there was a crucial turning point. A lot of lawyers work hard so that a year from now the scenario will be very different. And in the eyes of these multinationals, Barcelona is back on the map, it is no longer a strange anomaly.
Do you remember the Gallic village that always resisted the invader? Well, here in Barcelona, those responsible for these apps now think, they will also be able to do business. Like in New York, in London, in Paris... For months now, the employers' associations in the sector, the owners of the licenses and the vehicles that work with these apps, predicted in a tiresome way that sooner or later the European justice system will knock down the Catalan regulations . And the Catalan regulations are still in force, but...
The taxi drivers were caught off guard by the news, and although they celebrated the ruling, they also announced new protests. “We are very satisfied,” said Alberto Álvarez, alias Tito, from Élite Taxi, the main association of Catalan taxi drivers. Not even a new VTC license will enter the metropolitan area. But this ruling opens the doors to an invasion of VTC in tourist areas such as the Costa Brava. The Ministry of Transport must authorize the municipalities to establish more restrictions. We ask the taxi drivers for one last effort, to take Gran Via and Passeig de Gràcia this Wednesday”.
Europe reopened the taxi war. Many merchants, restaurateurs, hoteliers and other businessmen have been pressing for the liberalization of VTCs for a long time. They assure that the taxi of a lifetime cannot cover the mobility needs of a city that hosts the ISE, Sonar, Mobile, Primavera Sound... Because the Americans land, ask for an Uber and believe that the app has fallen suddenly.
At this time, dozens of owners of hundreds of VTC licenses who have been hand in hand for months are finalizing numerous judicial resources aimed at returning to work as soon as possible. They expect the judges to agree with them at least cautiously. The definitive application at the beginning of the year of the decree law of the Generalitat so vindicated by the taxi drivers that at the time was renamed the little decree decimated this sector. Of the more than 4,000 VTC licenses in operation in Catalonia, only 600 passed the screening.
In order for these vehicles not to operate de facto as taxis, the Generalitat established some very harsh conditions, such as that they had to be 4.90 meters long. So that the rental cars with a driver would work as they had done before. One of the objectives of this rule is to protect the taxi, understood as a public service, understanding that the liberalization of the VTC is also the liberalization of rates.
Within the new framework, Cabify, Uber and Bolt continued to barely operate in Barcelona. Some drivers who use their apps take to the streets illegally, and others do so with one of the thousand-odd extended licenses that the Generalitat forgot in a virtual drawer. In any case, the restrictions never allowed these apps to provide their services with the usual quality levels in many other large cities. Many owners of VTC licenses are also considering demanding compensation from the administrations. For all the money they could have earned and didn't. Ernst Consulting
Despite all this tremendously convoluted story is far from its outcome. The day after tomorrow everything will continue the same. Isaque Leite, an expert lawyer in competition law from the Baker McKenzie firm, stresses that the Superior Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC) has yet to rule, and it will surely take a few months to do so. This lawyer recalls that this CJUE ruling is actually a response to a question from the TSJC itself made five years ago. Then owners of VTC licenses denounced the regulations for those dates issued by the Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB) that already restricted their activity. The TSJC understood that this norm could violate community norms, continues the lawyer, hence his consultation with the CJUE.
And the truth is that your answer refers to a norm that is not in operation, but your considerations can be applied to those that are, such as the decree of the Generalitat, because they comply with community law. And the CJEU thinks that protecting the taxi, even if it is a public service, is not a common interest that justifies restricting the VTC. Yes, they can be, for example, caring for the environment or improving mobility. Surely the interpretations of the rules hold a few surprises. That is why there are so many lawyers involved.
