{"id":38173,"date":"2015-03-11T15:20:37","date_gmt":"2015-03-11T14:20:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/?p=38173"},"modified":"2021-10-13T18:49:14","modified_gmt":"2021-10-13T16:49:14","slug":"uber-vs-taxi-capitalism-meets-the-spanish-taxi-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/uber-vs-taxi-capitalism-meets-the-spanish-taxi-industry\/","title":{"rendered":"Taxi vs. Uber: Capitalism meets the Spanish taxi industry"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_17 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-grey\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class=\"ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1\"><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/uber-vs-taxi-capitalism-meets-the-spanish-taxi-industry\/#Catching_a_Ride\" title=\"Catching a Ride\">Catching a Ride<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/uber-vs-taxi-capitalism-meets-the-spanish-taxi-industry\/#The_End_of_Uber\" title=\"The End of Uber\">The End of Uber<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Catching_a_Ride\"><\/span>Catching a Ride<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>No matter where you are, especially here in Barcelona when trying to get from point A to B you want the cheapest, fastest and most comfortable way to do so. Well what happens when such services are no longer being provided by a single company, giving leeway for \u00a0private companies\u00a0 to be able to get a piece of the pie. Not only that, but what if what\u2019s considered to be a legitimate way of business in a certain part of the world, also considered as an illicit way to be providing the same services in others. Here is where the rubber of the long-established taxi companies have met the road. \u00a0Uber, a San Francisco-based company has created a new way to catch a cab, that is revolutionizing the way of the taxi. With easy access to pin-point location for pick-up and drop-off, Uber has become one of the most convenient ways to use transportation.\u00a0 Though, by no means has this entrepreneur dream been easy to start.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Catalonia-Taxi-protest.jpg\"><img class=\" size-medium wp-image-38174 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Catalonia-Taxi-protest-300x214.jpg\" alt=\"Catalonia Taxi protest\" width=\"300\" height=\"214\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_End_of_Uber\"><\/span>The End of Uber<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Here in Barcelona, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/uber\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Uber<\/a> has met its ethical match, people with the possibility to be left without a job. According to a census done in 2006 by the Institut Metropolit\u1f70 del Taxi, there are close to 12,000 licensed taxi cab drivers that remain active.\u00a0 If Uber and similar competitors are able to fully spread their wings and take-off, those 12,000 families could now potentially be left without a strong source of income. As a matter of fact, most of the opposition that these companies have felt has come from taxi drivers and unions themselves. As part of their counter hand, these strikes have proven to the app-based transportation systems that the old-ways are here to stay and won\u2019t go down without putting up a fight.<\/p>\n<p>News from <a href=\"http:\/\/tech.eu\/news\/uber-drives-legal-obstacles-time-barcelona\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Tech.eu<\/a> informs, that since the landing of Uber in Paris in 2011 and London in 2012, strikes have broken out across <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/barcelona-icapital\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Europe<\/a>. However, newly proposed legislation as well as a means to be able to enforce the new regulations has created loopholes for these app-based companies. \u00a0Because there has been a vast amount of grey area formed because of the ongoing notion, it wasn\u2019t until this past year that the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.stac.cat\/la-cte-pide-a-las-administraciones-que-intervengan-para-prohibir-la-actividad-de-uber\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">CTE<\/a> made it clear that change was bound to occur.\u00a0 This movement however, has allowed other competitors like BlaBlaCar and Madrid-based Cabify still on the market. Likewise, the last move from Uber has demonstrated that some loopholes and grey areas on the matter still need to get worked out.<\/p>\n<p>A few months after the \u201cofficial\u201d ban of Uber in Spain, the company reinvented itself as UberEATS. Through UberEATS, users are able to order food from participating <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/all-about-barcelona-hidden-factory-hidden-restaurants\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">restaurants<\/a>. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.npr.org\/blogs\/thetwo-way\/2015\/02\/20\/387748496\/banned-from-the-ride-share-business-in-spain-uber-turns-to-food-delivery\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">NPR<\/a> has recently discussed some of the tactics as well as some of the opposition that this new movement has faced. Uber offers similar services in Los Angeles, CA. Yet the company decided to use Barcelona as its starting point in order to be able to make the delicious Spanish <span class=\"removed_link\" title=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/category\/food_drink\/\">gastronomy<\/span> more available.\u00a0 It has been interesting to note however, that with or without opposition this five-year-old company has been able to expand to over 50 countries. Barcelona offers a story to tell however way you may wish to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/triplt\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">travel<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Protest-1.jpg\"><img class=\" size-medium wp-image-38176 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Protest-1-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"Protest 1\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<div style=\"display: none;\"\n    class=\"kk-star-ratings kksr-valign-bottom kksr-align-left \"\n    data-id=\"38173\"\n    data-slug=\"\">\n    <div class=\"kksr-stars\">\n    <div class=\"kksr-stars-inactive\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"1\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"2\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"3\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"4\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"5\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    <div class=\"kksr-stars-active\" style=\"width: 0px;\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n    <div class=\"kksr-legend\">\n            <span class=\"kksr-muted\">Rate us!<\/span>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Table of Contents Catching a RideThe End of Uber Catching a Ride No matter where you are, especially here in Barcelona when trying to get from point A to B you want the cheapest, fastest and most comfortable way to do so. Well what happens when such services are no longer being provided by a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":38175,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4474],"tags":[650,1911,275,978],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38173"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/35"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38173"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38173\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":106818,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38173\/revisions\/106818"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38175"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}