Uber and Cabify drivers staged a rally in the center of Madrid

On September 27, over 200 drivers of online taxi services Uber and Cabify staged a mass protest in the center of Madrid, TASS reports.

It is reported that disgruntled drivers using 40 cars partially blocked traffic along one of the key streets in the center of the Spanish capital. Taxi drivers are rallying with posters “For the right to work”, “Finally I have a job, don’t take it away from me”, “We want to work”. Moreover, the day before, Uber and Cabify drivers drove passengers for free in many cities in Spain.

This action is timed to coincide with the meeting of the Council of Ministers of Spain scheduled for Friday, September 28, during which it is expected that a decision will be approved to transfer to local administrations the ability to regulate the issuance of licenses for Internet taxi services. Drivers are pushing for the plan in the hope that devolution will help limit the issuance of new licenses.

Let us note that this summer a multi-day strike by taxi drivers took place throughout Spain. Then drivers blocked central streets in various localities, and airports in a number of cities were left without taxis. It was then that the Spanish authorities decided to meet taxi drivers halfway and proposed transferring to the autonomous regions the authority to issue licenses to online taxi services.