They have been waiting for them for a long time. With Cabify running its VTC model for a long time and the landing of the international Bolt just a few days ago, Uber has been missing from the list of mobility techs that have dared to bypass Catalan regulations. Now this is reality.
How could you foresee VanguardUber has just landed in Barcelona with a business model that is generating the most hives in the taxi sector in the region. With 200 VTC licenses as confirmed hypertext with companies that are already in business. also withWith a model that Cabify already launched a few years ago: one that bypassed the obligation to reserve routes in advance. The Spanish unicorn has already launched a model in which users become a kind of “partners” of the platform. Thus, the conditions were valid only for the first trip of the “contract”, and for the rest, it was not necessary to wait an average of the previous 15 minutes.
This measure, highly controversial at the time, was eventually copied by the rest of the companies in the sector before being overturned by the courts. However, Uber follows the model of its predecessors: “We entered with the same model as Cabify and Uber,” company sources say.. One is the same as in Madrid.
From today, the transport model UberX, Uber Van and Uber Comfort is available in Barcelona. The 3 most frequent for the company at the national and international level.
And while it was something that had been expected for a long time, it took the mobility sector by surprise. Uber returned to Barcelona with a taxi model similar to that of FreeNow just a few months ago. Specifically, in March of that year, and not without controversy. According to taxi unions, the multinational still did not have a tariff 3 (or pre-contract) work permit, so it was illegal to enter Barcelona. Ultimately, Uber got the go-ahead from the WBA. But then the company indicated that its efforts were focused on working with the public model. However, they left aside the VTC business in Barcelona. The bet didn’t last long.
Uber arrives just before the VTC license reform
This move by Uber in Barcelona is laying the foundation stone for what’s to come in the coming months. The law known as the Abalos Law, which regulated the management of VTC licenses at the national level, will soon expire. In particular, October 1, 2022
In Madrid, where VTC car operations have become more important with the approval of public administrations, reform is already underway. In fact, it will be possible to continue the circulation to date without any restrictions. The decision to be made in Catalonia is under consideration and in particular in Barcelona. A very restrictive place for VTC mobility business models. And it was today that the first step was taken to reform what the Law of Abalos was.
Without a decision still on the table that suggests where the shots on the VTC in Barcelona will go, it was revealed today that the groundwork is already being laid for a parliamentary agreement between the government of the Generalitat and the Socialist Party of Catalonia to approve a decree regulating the VTC after October 1, 2022 . One that, as they already point out, will punish those who break the current rules.
Source: Hiper Textual
