A PYMNTS Company

Spain: Uber report highlights hight cost of taxi “monopoly”

By  |  May 15, 2017

US ride-sharing company Uber has launched a new offensive in its ‘war’ against Spain’s traditional taxi sector, defending the liberalization of the market for individual passenger transport licenses. This step, Uber argues, could create more than 12,000 new jobs in the country’s major cities, according to data from the study carried out by financial consultants Analistas Financieros Internacionales (AFI).

    Get the Full Story

    Complete the form to unlock this article and enjoy unlimited free access to all PYMNTS content — no additional logins required.

    yesSubscribe to our daily newsletter, PYMNTS Today.

    By completing this form, you agree to receive marketing communications from PYMNTS and to the sharing of your information with our sponsor, if applicable, in accordance with our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions.

    According to the report, if the current limits on VTC-type licenses are withdrawn, the average rate for individual transport services could fall by up to 35%, benefitting consumers. The reduction would be equal to about three euros per journey, in addition to the reduction of waiting times with an additional saving of more than 120 million euros per year in Madrid alone.

    Uber has invoked these results to demand an “urgent liberalization” of the sector, hoping to prevent the market from growing in a disorderly way as a result of licenses granted through judicial channels. For its part, the country’s largest Taxi union, FEDETAXI, has denounced the report, which they accuse of “proposing to raise taxes on private cars while Uber avoids their payments in Spain.” The association disqualified Uber’s report, considering that the rebates and benefits that it says ” Can do it now and without more municipalities … without the need to create 80,000 new licenses and in the process ruin 100,000 families of Spanish taxi drivers. ”

    Fuente: Republica

    ¿Busca más noticias? Suscríbase a nuestros boletines y conviértase en miembro de CPI para mantenerse al tanto de lo último en el mundo de la competencia económica.