Barcelona recorded 3,869 vehicle-for-hire-with-driver, or VTC, authorisations in June, down 165 from 4,034 in May, according to a list published by Spain's Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility and reported by La Gaceta del TAXI.

The figure concerns Barcelona province and authorisations, rather than a confirmed count of vehicles working in the Barcelona metropolitan area. For passengers, taxi drivers and VTC operators, that distinction matters because the available figures cover different territories and licence categories.

The supplied source material does not independently confirm a claim that 4,500 VTCs are operating without control in metropolitan Barcelona, nor does it provide a figure of 700 authorised vehicles. It also does not provide evidence of a taxi blockade outside the Department of Territory.

Metropolitan urban licences are counted separately

ARA reported that Barcelona and its metropolitan area currently have 10,500 taxi licences and 990 urban VTC licences. It said Catalonia has 4,074 VTCs for intercity journeys.

Those figures should not be treated as directly comparable with the Ministry's provincial authorisation total. The source material describes urban VTC licences in the metropolitan area separately from VTC authorisations recorded across Barcelona province.

  • Barcelona province had 4,034 VTC authorisations in May.
  • The total fell to 3,869 in June, a reduction of 165 authorisations.
  • Barcelona and its metropolitan area have 990 urban VTC licences, according to ARA.
  • The same area has 10,500 taxi licences.

Draft taxi law proposes changes to urban VTCs

According to ARA, a draft taxi law proposed by the Generalitat, Catalonia's regional government, would phase out roughly 1,000 urban VTCs in the Barcelona metropolitan area as their licences expire.

The proposal envisages a "smooth transition", with the Generalitat estimating that 600 urban licences would expire when the law takes effect and about 300 could continue temporarily in line with court rulings.

The proposal also includes a geolocation-based data platform intended to monitor taxis and VTCs for irregularities. The supplied material does not state whether the draft has been approved by Parliament or set an implementation date.

People using taxi or VTC services should distinguish between metropolitan urban licences and province-wide authorisations when assessing claims about the number of vehicles operating in Barcelona.

Reported by Source Text Link, Javier Izquierdo Enriquez, Carlos Márquez Daniel, ARA, La Gaceta del TAXI, rac1.cat, Redacción, catalannews.com, beteve.cat, barna.news, lavanguardia.com, Vilapress, apdnoticies.com.