Cabify threatens to leave Alicante

Car-and-driver (VTC) hire company believes strict operating conditions such as those applied in Barcelona could be on the cards for Valencia region

LEADING car-and-driver hire company Cabify is threatening to pull out of Alicante if harsh conditions are applied to holders of VTC licences.

Recent taxi ‘wars’ in Madrid and Barcelona, saw thousands of taxis block city streets protesting against Cabify and Uber vehicle for hire companies and pressuring councils to restricting their services.

Last weekend taxis were protesting again, this time in Valencia. Cabify’s Europe and Asia manager, Mariano Silveyra, has now warned that if the regional government tries to restrict their working conditions, they will pull out of Alicante city completely, just like they have done in Barcelona.

Apparently, regional authorities are preparing a decree stating that there has to be a minimum of 15 minutes lapse between the vehicle being contacted and it picking up a passenger.

Cabify does not accept this, as users don’t want to wait, they want to travel immediately says the company.

Mr Silveyra said that the usual amount of time from the driver being contacted and the passenger collected is around 2 to 3 minutes. If drivers have to wait 15 minutes, it makes no sense to provide the service. He warned that if they pull out, around 500 jobs will be lost in the sector, and 2,000 new jobs that would have been possible will never become a reality.

He also said that the taxi’s real ‘enemy’ are private car owners providing illegal services (pirate taxis).

Cabify as well as offering cars, also offers hire of scooters and electric motorcycles through its online platform, although this hire service is not yet running in Alicante, although they hope it will soon become a reality in the next six months.

The company currently has around 30 cars operating in Alicante, due to limited amount of licenses being granted to its drivers. Mr Silveyra said that between 200 to 500 cars could easily operate in Alicante. In Madrid, they have thousands of drivers.

Meanwhile the region’s taxi drivers have said they will not accept the proposed 15-minute wait, and demand at least an hour between ordering the car and getting in to it.