Madrid taxis end strike, fail to get tighter rules for Uber

MADRID – Taxi drivers in Madrid have ended a 16-day strike after failing to force authorities in the Spanish capital to impose tighter restrictions on ride-hailing companies like Uber and Cabify.

Fifty-three per cent of over 7,000 taxi drivers who voted late Tuesday backed calling off the strike, according to the professional association of taxi drivers Elite Taxi.

The taxi sector had wanted Madrid’s regional government to take similar action to authorities in Spain’s second largest city, Barcelona, where a taxi strike resulted in new regulations requiring users of ride-hailing apps to contract services 15 minutes beforehand.

That victory for taxi drivers in Barcelona led Uber and Cabify to announce that they would cancel operations in the city.