Taxi drivers' strike spreads across Spain

Taxi drivers are determined to see the number of Uber/Cabify (VTC) licences limited to one for every 30 licensed taxis and want to see authority for licensing taken away from central government and granted to the local authorities.

Taxi drivers are still occupying the centre of Barcelona, and there have been spontaneous protests around the airports of El Prat in Barcelona and Barajas in Madrid as well as at the main train stations and city centres in Valencia, Alicante, Zaragoza and Málaga, although minimum services for disabled or wheelchair-bound people have been maintained.

Taxi drivers in Barcelona warned the Department of Public Works on Sunday that there would be strikes all over Spain until they "win", and said that until the licences were limited they would not stop the strike action and would even consider increasing it.

One of the striking taxi drivers' next targets could well be the cruise ship terminals in Barcelona port.

The Ministry for Public Works has invited the main taxi driver organisations in for further negotiations on Monday in the hope of bringing the dispute to a close.

Taxi drivers in Valencia and Alicante have already joined the strike action, providing only a skeleton service for medical emergencies and people with disabilities.

In Zaragoza, taxi drivers are joining the strike from midnight on Sunday to midnight on Monday in support of the demands to have VTC licences limited.

Taxi drivers in Málaga and along the Costa del Sol have also joined the indefinite strike, but with certain limitations: stoppages won't affect services to and from the airports or the main train or bus stations.

Seville-based taxi drivers will vote on Monday as to whether they join the strike, but those in Navarra have already called a strike from 6.00 to 13.00 hours on Monday.

Cantabrian taxi drivers are also joining the strike, with only limited services being available from 6.00 hours on Monday until midnight on Tuesday, to put pressure on the local authorities to adopt the measures being demanded in Barcelona.

Further strike action is expected in the Balearic Islands (between 9am and 2pm on Tuesday) and in the Basque Country (from 6am on Monday until midnight on Tuesday).