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VALENCIA

Why are there not enough taxis in Spain’s Valencia?

Hospitality industry experts and airline operators have complained that Spain's third city Valencia doesn't have enough taxis to match its status as a tourism hotspot.

Published: 24 November 2023 09:36 CET
Why are there not enough taxis in Spain's Valencia?
There are 3,000 official taxi licences issued in the Valencian capital.(Photo by GABRIEL BOUYS / AFP)

There are almost endless reasons to come to Valencia: the Mediterranean climate, the history, the natural parks and beaches, the futuristic City of Arts and Sciences, and of course, the paella, to name just a few.

But one thing you might struggle to find when holidaying in Spain’s third city is a taxi. This is according to hospitality industry insiders and airline operators, who have both criticised the lack of cabs in the holiday hotspot recently.

Hotel and tourism association Hosbec Valencia has described the “evident lack of taxi service” in Valencia as one of the main complaints made by tourists staying in the city’s hotels.

“There are waits of more than 30-45 minutes on more occasions than desired, as can be evidenced by complaints collected at the receptions of accommodation in the city.”

READ ALSO: 10 maps to help you understand Valencia

In a press statement, Hosbec described the “discomfort of a high number of customers in relation to the taxi service of the city. Long queues at points of arrival, waiting longer than 30 minutes at certain peak times, even, inability to find service on the street or to be able to have telephone attention or via applications of the grouped services of taxi drivers.”

The association has blamed a shortfall in taxi licences granted by local government since the Covid-19 pandemic as the main reason.

The issue has even been raised abroad, with organisers of a major tourism sector event in the UK pointing out that a global tourist destination like Valencia just doesn’t have the number of taxis to keep up with demand. The shortage of taxis in the Valencian capital was noted “by managers of airlines operating in the city during the last London WTM fair,” according to Hosbec.

READ ALSO: Seven essential apps that make life in Valencia easier for foreign residents

This shortage has led Hosbec to lobby local government and the Generalitat to look for solutions. However, there is a paradox here. At the end of September, in contrast to the criticism from the hotel sector, the city’s taxi drivers staged demonstrations for completely the opposite reasons. Among their grievances was a reduction in the number of taxis working on the streets during the autumn season.

Hosbec says that the taxi shortage, combined with the newly introduced tourist tax in the region, means the city could jeopardise efforts to position itself as a world leading tourist destination. In 2024, Valencia will be the European Green Capital.

READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: The new tourism tax in Spain’s Valencia region

Hosbec also called on local government to at least match “the number of total licenses that were in the city in 2019, in anticipation of the increase in activity in the short and medium term.”

There are 3,000 official taxi licences issued in the Valencian capital. The population of the city is 792,492, according to Spain’s national statistics body (INE).

Member comments

  1. I believe that there are plenty of taxis and cabify’s etc. I have lived here for 10 years and the I think the waiting times are intentional. This way they can charge “high demand” prices. They are thieves. Cabify, for example, used to be a cheap alternative if you could preplan your trim – or wait five minutes for a ride to show at your house, Now, i quit using them (almost) as they are always showing higher than normal rates and “high-demand”.

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EES PASSPORT CHECKS

EES border checks could undergo ‘soft launch’, UK says as app concerns mount

The UK government is preparing for a "soft launch" of the new EU border system – the Entry/Exit (EES) system - in October but authorities are still waiting for European Commission to confirm the start date, amid concerns over the delay of a new app.

Published: 4 May 2024 09:30 CEST
EES border checks could undergo 'soft launch', UK says as app concerns mount

The government is working on the assumption that the system will go live on October 6th, ministers told a hearing at the House of Commons European scrutiny committee this week.

But the European Commission is expected to confirm the exact launch date of the new biometric checks for non-EU travellers entering the Schengen area at some point this summer, they added.

“We are very much working on a basis whereby this policy will go live on the 6th of October. It is important that we plan for that eventuality. We are expecting to hear definitively from the European Union that ‘go live’ arrangement in the summer,” Tom Pursglove, UK Minister for Legal Migration and the Border told the committee.

The parliamentary committee is conducting an inquiry on the disruptions the system will cause in the UK.

Pursglove also said that “precautionary measures” have been agreed by the EU, that will be put in place in certain circumstances after the start of EES, for example if delays at the borders exceeded a certain length of time.

Guy Opperman, Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Transport, said that in practice this meant a “soft launch” of EES for 6 months before “a full go live”. During that soft launch EU member states and the UK could deploy flexibility measures should problems occur.

“The likelihood is, after multiple delays, that the 6th of October will proceed” and the implementation looks “very different” compared to previous scenarios considering the flexibility allowed in the first 6 months, he argued.

No details were given on what these “flexible” measures would involve however. 

READ ALSO: Your questions answered about Europe’s EES passport checks

He conceded that “a lot of work” still needs to be done but the UK “should be as ready as everybody” and “better be at front of the queue”.

App not ready

During the meeting, it also emerged that a much-anticipated app that would allow remote pre-registration of non-EU citizens subject to the checks will not be available for testing until August “at best”, prompting concerns about the EES launch date.

“You don’t need to be a sceptic about future projects to think that the provision of the app in August for going live in October is optimistic,” Opperman said.

Ministers confirmed that the app will not be ready in time for October and the committee previously stated it might be delayed until summer 2025.

The app will facilitate pre-registration, but photo and fingerprints will still have to be taken at the border in front of a guard, the committee heard.

READ ALSO: How do the EU’s new EES passport checks affect the 90-day rule?

Several MPs asked whether the entry into operation of the EES should be delayed again if technology is not ready. But Under-Secretary Opperman said the app “is not going to be a panacea to fix all problems”.

The main aim of EES is to increase security and to ensure that non-EU nationals visiting the Schengen area for a short-term do not stay more than 90 days in any 180-day period.

The entry into operation of the system has already been delayed several times and there have been calls from certain travel companies and national authorities to delay it again.

Under the new scheme, non-EU/EFTA travellers who do not need a visa will have to register their biometric data (finger prints and facial images) in a database that will also record each time they enter and exit the Schengen area.

Instead of having passports manually stamped, travellers will have to scan them at self-service kiosks before crossing the border. However, fingerprints and a photo will have to be registered in front of a guard at the first crossing and there are concerns the extra time needed will generate long queues, especially in Dover, Folkestone and St. Pancras station in London, where there are juxtaposed French and UK border checks.

Progress in preparations

Minister Pursglove also updated MPs on ongoing preparations. He said some testing of the system will take place within days, 5 kiosks have been installed at St. Pancras station and are available for testing. “You are beginning to see the physical infrastructure appear,” he said.

Kiosks and extra lanes are also being created at the port Dover and it was agreed with the EU passengers travelling by coach will be checked away from the Eastern dock, where controls usually take place, allowing to gain space. The vehicles will then sealed and drive on the ferries.

MPs also discussed the infrastructure cost linked to the introduction of the EES. Opperman said all EU countries will have to make “huge investments” in their ports. In the UK, he argued, this will help “address problems that have existed for some time”. Because of this “massive investment”, in a few years time “Dover will be totally transformed,” he said.

This article is published in cooperation with Europe Street News.

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