Date
27 June 2023

Tag

Active

Country
Spain Spain
Geographical scope
Regional
Type
  • Type

    Awareness raising, campaigns, information provision

    Voluntary
  • Type

    Working conditions

    Legal

Description

In Barcelona, Spain, professional association Elite Taxi has launched a public marketing campaign to convert platform ride hailing drivers (VTC) to become taxi drivers. The information campaign targets those working at platform companies Uber and Cabify, appealing to the better working conditions and pay on offer as a taxi driver. Slogans such as 'raise your hand if you want to leave precariousness' have been used. On 20 June 2023, 250 advertisements had been put up around the city on billboards. The posters include a contact number and email.

The Catalan Parliament's new VTC regulation, which came into force on 1 January 2023, means that VTCs are now restricted to limousines and passenger vans. By 2024, both VTC and taxi drivers will be subject to the same examination conditions, raising the bar of entry to becoming a VTC driver. By this time, VTCs will be limited to 800 vehicles, over 9,000 less than the metropolitan taxi fleet, greatly reducing job opportunities for VTC drivers. Further, a new public taxi app in Barcelona was also established in December 2022, making it easier for locals to book taxis. The new model means there is greater demand for taxis in the city, and Elité Taxi, the majority union in the Catalan capital which was instrumental in pushing for the new VTC regulation is encouraging VTC drivers to switch, claiming that taxi drivers wages are 30-40% higher while drivers work 20-30% fewer hours.


Additional metadata

Keywords
platform characteristics and business model, work intensity, working time quality, work-life balance, motivation for platform work, income, client characteristics
Actors
Other
Sector
Transportation and storage

Sources

Citation

Eurofound (2023), Spanish Trade union Elité Taxi launches a campaign to attract ride hailing drivers to become taxi drivers (Initiative), Record number 4274, Platform Economy Database, Dublin, https://apps.eurofound.europa.eu/platformeconomydb/spanish-trade-union-elit-taxi-launches-a-campaign-to-attract-ride-hailing-drivers-to-become-taxi-drivers-110037.