BARCELONA – Hundreds of yellow-and-black taxi cabs disrupted traffic in Barcelona on Thursday to protest the return of the ride-hailing giant Uber to the northeastern Spanish city after a 2-year hiatus.
The U.S.-based multinational was driven out of the streets of Barcelona in February 2019, when regional authorities ordered that rides arranged through mobile apps had to be hired at least 15 minutes in advance.
At the time, Uber said the requirement was “totally incompatible with the immediacy of on-demand services.” But Uber resumed operating in the city of 5.4 million residents this week, allowing users to order rides from over 350 regular cabs charging with taxi-meters.