A strike by Spanish taxi drivers is set to continue after talks with government officials failed yesterday.
Spanish taxi drivers blocked major city streets including Barcelona's Gran Via and Madrid's Castellana in a protest to pressure the government to curb licences to online ride-hailing services such as Uber.
El País is reporting that taxi representatives were not in favour of the government’s offer to transfer powers over licensing to regional governments, as they said this would simply extend the problem to 17 regions, rather than fix it.
The strike is causing major concerns as it comes at the peak of tourist season in Spain.
Union representatives met officials of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's government late yesterday to try to resolve the dispute, in which taxi drivers have choked main roads and snarled airports, bus and train stations since Saturday, 28 July.
Along with counterparts in many other European countries, Spain's taxi drivers say that ride-hailing apps have made it impossible to compete.
Union representatives say the current law of one ride-hailing licence for every 30 taxi licences is not being respected and want an end to the practice of transferring ride-hailing permits between drivers.
With backers including Goldman Sachs and BlackRock and valued at more than $70bn, Uber has faced protests, bans and restrictions around the world as it challenges traditional taxi operators, angering some unions.
London cab drivers are examining the possibility of bringing a class action suit against Uber after the mobile app was granted a temporary licence renewal to operate in the British capital.
