Taxi drivers call for a protest on Gran Via this Tuesday, with the sector divided.

BarcelonaTaxis will be back on the streets. Élite Taxi has called a strike for this Tuesday to defend the future taxi law. currently undergoing parliamentary processingFaced with pressure to reverse the decision from platforms like Uber, Bolt, and Cabify, as well as protests against repeated violations of regulations by companies holding VTC licenses, "This will not be just any day: it will be the moment to demonstrate that the taxi industry is alive, united, and determined to enforce the law. This is not about ideologies, but about professional dignity and defending public service," argues Tito Álvarez, spokesperson for Élite Taxi and the most visible face of the taxi industry's struggle in the city in recent years.

The protest will begin at 9:30 a.m., with taxis starting to fill Gran Via from Plaça Tetuán. Once the section up to Passeig de Gràcia is full, the taxi drivers will block it from Rosselló to Plaça Catalunya. At all times, they will maintain one emergency lane in each direction on both Passeig de Gràcia and Gran Via. Furthermore, during the strike, which will last until 4:00 p.m., minimum services will be guaranteed free of charge to attend to emergency situations, with clearly marked vehicles. During the sector's strike, a general assembly will be held in which the taxi drivers will decide where to direct their protest march through the city. Possibilities being considered include heading towards the headquarters of Foment del Treball (the Catalan employers' association) due to their support for the ride-hailing sector, or towards Camp Nou, given the still-fresh wound from the recent agreement between FC Barcelona and Uber. "We don't want to, nor can we, compete with the marketing budget of a multinational corporation. Our only real voice is collective mobilization," Álvarez emphasizes.

This time, the taxi drivers' association, the most representative in the Barcelona metropolitan area, aimed to reach all of Catalonia's taxi drivers and has secured the support of all four provincial capitals. "From Figueres to Tarragona," Álvarez stresses, who has been holding meetings throughout the region to unite the sector. According to his estimates, Tuesday's protest will receive the support of 90% of the sector. In Catalonia, there are approximately 12,500 taxi licenses, 10,500 of which are concentrated in the metropolitan area.

These efforts have met with resistance from other Barcelona associations, such as the Taxi Union of Catalonia (STAC), which criticizes the strike being called to approve the future law without modifications, even though it contains elements "very detrimental to the sector" that must be changed. The Taxi Companys Group (ATC) also disagrees, believing that "too many work stoppages and strikes have been held without any real impact on improving taxi drivers' conditions," as does the Pakistani Taxi Drivers Association of Catalonia (Pak Taxi), which denounces the protest as "not bringing any real benefit."

"It is incomprehensible that three organizations that call themselves representatives of the sector remain silent when strict compliance with the law is demanded. While taxi drivers demand control, sanctions, and justice, they speak of calm and patience," laments Álvarez, who points out that these associations are affiliated with Cabify and Bolt, as well as the taxi app Freenow. With positions divided among the associations, Élite Taxi is calling for calm to avoid clashes this Tuesday between striking taxi drivers and those who will not be participating.