The limitation of the number of licenses for services of tourist vehicles with driver (VTC) in the metropolitan area of Barcelona "is contrary to Union law", the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has ruled this morning, which On the other hand, it admits the possibility of demanding the obtaining of "an additional license to that provided at the national level" if it is considered "necessary for the proper management of transport, traffic, public space and the protection of the environment".
The taxi sector clings to this "additional license" to consider that it is a satisfactory sentence. "It means that here, in the Barcelona Metropolitan Area, not one more VTC will enter," said Tito Álvarez, spokesman for Élite Taxi, in statements to the press. At the same time, he expressed his concern because the CJEU ruling "opens the door to the invasion of VTCs outside the metropolitan area." For this reason, he called on Catalan taxi drivers to "take the Gran Via and Paseo de Gracia" to make "one last great effort" and demand that the Ministry of Transport take the necessary measures so that the municipalities can establish limitations on this type of authorizations.
The case stems from the decision of the company Prestige and Limousine, a Cabify subsidiary that owns several VTC licenses in the Barcelona conurbation, to challenge the local service regulations that require, on the one hand, to have an additional license to to be able to provide this type of services and, on the other, it sets the limit of one VTC for every 30 taxi services in this area.
This demand to annul the regulation led the Court of Justice of Catalonia to ask the European courts, in a preliminary question, whether this type of limit does not have the effect of reducing competition in the taxi sector to a minimum.
Today, the Court of Justice of the EU has determined that both elements of the regulation constitute "restrictions on the exercise of the freedom of establishment". His analysis of whether they can be justified has concluded that the requirement of an additional license "may be considered necessary" in order to efficiently manage transport, traffic and the environment but, at the same time, he clarifies that in accordance with the law European "must be based on objective criteria" to avoid arbitrariness.
The CJUE, on the other hand, does not consider the limitation of VTC service licenses to one for every 30 taxi licenses justified. The measure "does not seem suitable to guarantee the achievement of the aforementioned objectives. The allegations raised in defense of this system have not convinced the European magistrates of its suitability, while the arguments in defense of these services have been able to establish that their activity " It actually favors the achievement of both objectives", that is, the reduction in the use of private cars, the search for efficient and inclusive mobility "thanks to its level of digitization and flexibility in the provision of services". Now, once known the opinion of the European justice on the case, it will correspond to the TSJC to pass sentence.
