The ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union on June 8 has caused a major shock in the taxi and VTC sector. Asked about the compatibility with the law of the European Union of the limitation of the number of VTC operators, established in the AMB regulation of the year 2018, the high European court has made it clear that the famous ratio 1 VTC / 30 taxis is incompatible with the European legal order.
This pronouncement puts the flagship pillar of the regulation of VTC activity in crisis, that of limiting the number of VTC operators in relation to that of the taxi. However, this is not the only aspect of the regulation of the sector under discussion in terms of legality; thus, the obligation to pre-book the VTC service in advance of its effective provision (15 min. in Catalonia, extended to 60 min. in the AMB), and the minimum dimension of 4.90 meters for the vehicles dedicated to the activity of VTC (introduced by Decree Law, approved last summer by the Government) will most likely not pass judicial review either.
In fact, the Supreme Court has already declared illegal the 30-minute pre-reservation period provided for in the regulations of the Basque Country, and the Constitutional Court has accepted for processing a question of unconstitutionality regarding the 30 min. of preservation of the Balearic decree law.
Both the mandatory waiting period before being able to provide the service and the unjustifiable 4.90 m. of minimum size of the vehicles, are in the crosshairs of the European Commission, as it was revealed in its Communication of February 2022. They are clear examples of the unjustified introduction of regulatory inefficiencies that seek to avoid competition between the different types of operators in the sector and, by rebound, directly harm the users of the service and the general interest that they represent.
The mess is considerable, and it is not about aligning in favor of one or the other, but it is necessary to regulate the activity by putting the citizenry at the center, which until now has been largely forgotten, and offering a proportionate and non-discriminatory response to the important challenges inherent to the activity, such as: traffic and public space congestion, environmental protection, impact on public transport, etc. The recent sentence is indisputable, it is necessary to adequately justify the restrictions that are intended to be established and base them on genuine overriding reasons of general interest.
Consumer welfare calls for determined action by the public authorities to regulate the private activity of passenger transport on demand, without having to wait for new judicial rulings. This public action must be governed by the principles of better regulation, which will indisputably bring us closer to being able to have quality, sustainable transport services and affordable prices.
