NINE Cabify car-pooling vehicles were set on fire during the start of Sevilla's tourist-magnet April Fair, right at the height of tensions between travel-share operators and taxi drivers.
They had been parked outside a rural hotel in Castilblanco de los Arroyos, some 40 kilometres from Sevilla city, as their drivers had stopped there overnight.
Another 11 cars would have gone up in flames, but they were being used as transport for the Feria de Abril after reinforcements were brought in to cope with additional demand.
Emergency services were called out in the early hours of this morning (Tuesday), and say the blaze was definitely the work of arsonists.
Cabify, a chauffeur-driven transport system, is permitted under its licence to run 80% of its vehicles outside of its region of origin to meet extra trade requirements – a clause which allowed the firm to branch out into Sevilla in September.
Drivers working for Cabify have reported continuous and repeated cases of violence, insults and threats against them since they set up in the city, and taxi drivers – particularly those serving Sevilla's San Pablo airport – have staged protests and filed complaints about 'unfair competition'.
Similar incidences affecting Über, BlaBlaCar and Cabify vehicles have been reported in recent months in Madrid and Barcelona, where mainstream taxi drivers have wholeheartedly condemned the attacks, despite their protests against the companies.
In Sevilla, however, National Police already have 27 taxi drivers under investigation for blackmail and threats against other licensed transport workers such as Cabify and Über.
The city council has appointed 20 Local Police officers to keep watch at taxi ranks at the airport and at Sevilla's Santa Justa railway station to ensure anyone operating transport services has a proper licence, check they are complying with all the relevant rules, and guard against 'abusive' fares.
The airport has agreed to set up a dedicated area for chartered transport, a register of cars authorised to provide it, and information boards with taxi and bus fares.
Photograph supplied by Andalucía emergency services
