Electronic horizontal intermediation (section 107 and related provisions)

Bill on the transport of passengers in vehicles with up to nine seats (legislative procedure 202-00061/15)

The proposal expands the powers of the Catalan Government in the field of land transport (Article 169 of the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia) with the aim of providing the sector with a stable regulatory framework, replacing a system that has resulted in tens of thousands of pending applications for private hire vehicle licences, both through administrative and judicial channels.

As stated in the explanatory memorandum, the proposed legislation is based on the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), which permits restrictions on the number of authorisations where these are justified by overriding reasons of public interest: protection of the environment, and the management of traffic, public spaces and transport.
Taxis are classified as an affordable service of general interest, subject to specific public service obligations: to serve all requests without commercial discrimination, to comply with regulated fares, and to ensure universal coverage. Local authorities should rely primarily on taxis to meet regular demand, and only secondarily on private hire vehicles. The latter, by contrast, operate in a free market environment, without regulated fares or public service obligations.
This includes on-demand services (booked at least two hours in advance, with the vehicle available exclusively for extended periods) and limousine services (for leisure purposes, with a fixed number of licences).
In accordance with Judgment C-62/19 (Star Taxi App), the legislation distinguishes between horizontal intermediation, which is limited to connecting users and service providers and is subject to prior notification, and vertical intermediation, which organises and controls the service and requires prior administrative authorisation, assuming responsibility for compliance with the public service obligations relating to taxis.
A public mobility data platform is created to which all operators must connect their vehicles. Finally, pending private hire vehicle licences will be subject to the new environmental and management standards, even if the relevant procedures are currently the subject of legal proceedings, following the ruling against Spain for failing to comply with air quality directives (CJEU, C-125/20).