Gran Canaria’s battle to limit the presence of private hire taxi firms on the island is to go to Spain’s Supreme Court for settlement.
The island authorities have come in for fierce criticism from firms such as Uber, Cabify and Bolt for placing excessively stringent limits on the number of licences granted to the app-based services.
Opposition by the traditional hailed-on-the-street taxi sector, which fears that more private hire vehicles will put their jobs at risk, has included protests and even blocked roads in response to what it perceives as unfair competition from online platforms and app-based firms.
Gran Canaria’s governing Cabildo has imposed a limit of one so-called VTC taxi for every 30 traditional taxis but the strict ceiling has been challenged in the courts on the grounds that it is contrary to EU law and restricts free competition.
The Cabildo has reportedly turned down applications by around a dozen firms to operate a combined total of 3400 VTC vehicles on Gran Canaria, with seven of the companies taking their cases to court.
Following a ruling in February by the Canaries’ High Court, which upheld a Las Palmas court’s judgement that the imposition of the ‘1 per 30’ restriction in the case of one particular firm was not in accordance with the law, the Cabildo sought leave to apply to the Supreme Court for a definitive decision and the application has now been granted.
Despite growing demand, Gran Canaria is seen as a last bastion in the bid to limit the presence of app-based taxis, which are already authorised in south Tenerife. The Supreme Court outcome will have a major impact on the extent of the powers of authorities in the Canaries to adopt exceptional measures to take account of the special characteristics of the islands.
