The National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC) has asked the Community of Madrid to justify “better” some obligations imposed in the taxi and chauffeur-driven vehicles (VTC) regulations, considering that some measures “could be disproportionate” . Jorge Rodrigo, Minister of Housing, Transport and Infrastructure, defended the regulation this Tuesday and assured that the regional government is in contact with the CNMC to explain the reasons behind its approval.
In the case of VTCs, it cites those related to the minimum number of drivers per license, the technical requirements of the vehicles and the maximum price in times of high demand. On the other hand, he maintains, other demands such as the age of the driving license or the lack of certain criminal records would be “well motivated.”
Regarding the taxi, the organization believes that some of the obligations “would not be entirely justified.” Consider that a case should be made for “better” age requirements for vehicles, notwithstanding their justification on public safety grounds, and “the requirement to carry certain documentation on board.”
The CNMC has questioned the rest regime for taxis in Madrid, established by the Madrid City Council based on regional regulations, which allows the Town Councils to apply breaks with a limit of up to two days a week. The agency questions these forecasts, “since they limit the operators’ ability to self-organize their rest time.”
The Minister of Transport has ruled out modifying these regulations, considering that “they are well done.” According to Rodrigo, this Tuesday the General Directorate of Transport and those responsible for the organization met “in order to explain what are the appropriate considerations and assessments for which the regional government authorizes it with these characteristics.”
State regulation
The spokesperson has recorded that in the specific case of the VTC regulation it was on public display so that any entity could present allegations. “All entities in the sector presented allegations that some were accepted, others were not, and in this case the CNMC could have directly presented some type of allegations that it did not do at that time,” he indicated.
The counselor has demanded state regulations in this regard from the central government of Pedro Sánchez. “These things would in no case occur if the General Administration of the State approved a national regulation, a basic legislation in the sense that all the autonomous communities had the same regulation because in this case the Community of Madrid is the only one that It has these characteristics,” he concluded.
