VTCs will take the taxi law to court: "We won't let ourselves be killed."

BarcelonaThe executive president of Unauto – the VTC employers' association –, José Manuel Berzal, has stated that they intend to take the Generalitat's taxi bill, known this Tuesday, to court, and that could mean the gradual disappearance of this type of vehicle in Catalonia. The sector, he said, "will not allow itself to be killed," during a meeting with journalists alongside José María Cazallas, the organizing secretary of the Free Trade Union of Workers (SLT). Both entities have unveiled their alternative proposal, which proposes sustainable and mobility measures.

Specifically, it puts on the table the commitment of the VTC sector to implement fleets with a zero-emission environmental label, the ability to book shared rides with other users through taxis and VTCs, and the elimination of obstacles such as at least route length and waiting time. "We will not allow ourselves to be killed: we have an outstretched hand with the Administration, but we will not allow this abuse and abuse of power by Territori, hostage to the taxi sector, and this betrayal of the citizens," Berzal emphasized.

For his part, Cazallas has announced that the SLT will call a rally in front of the Department of Territory, Housing and Ecological Transition of the Generalitat on September 23, the day on which representatives of this ministry are scheduled to meet with the VTC sector to present them with the preliminary draft of the law.

Both entities have argued that the disappearance of the VTCs from the Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB), which would entail the approval of the text being finalized by the Government, would have an estimated cost of 325 million euros, including the loss of around 6,000 direct and indirect jobs. Thus, they claim that if the more than 3,700 VTC licenses currently in Catalonia were to operate normally (currently only about 2,500 are operating), there would be an economic potential of €445 million for the region and the creation of 10,500 direct and indirect jobs. They also estimate that if the law is passed, this would mean €126 million in lost wages and, on the contrary, €55 million in unemployment benefits would have to be paid.

According to Berzal, even if the law allowed all VTC licenses to be urban, there would still not be a balance between supply and demand: "We don't intend to fill Barcelona with unnecessary vehicles, but with the taxi and VTC fleet, there are still people who are dissatisfied," he asserted. For this reason, he opened the door to using the judicial route in Catalonia and at the state level, and even in Europe, where he stated that the European Commission is, literally, very attentive to the text approved in the Catalan Parliament.

He is committed to the dual model.

Cazallas explained that the VTC sector will affect job profiles that face greater difficulties finding work, such as young people, those over 55, and immigrants with recently regulated papers, who are "people with limited resources who have found refuge in this sector." "We don't need aid or subsidies from the government, just the ability to operate freely and coexist with both models: taxi and VTC, which is what Barcelona and its citizens need," he stated.