SHARED taxis with closed price and obligatory payment by credit card are some of the new modifications to Andalucia’s taxi sector.
Marifran Carazo, Andalucian Minister of Development, Housing and Territorial Planning has met with representatives of the Taxi Association and the Andalucian Federation of Self-Employed Taxi Drivers to announce a modification to the Regulation of Public Passenger Transport Services in the taxi sector.
The newly approved taxi regulations are the first official modifications the sector has seen in approximately ten years.
According to Carazo, the changes, which include payment by credit card and closed price per seating space, have been approved in order to make the taxi sector more competitive.
“This decree of taxi modernization will increase the quality of the service, as demanded not only by the sector, but also by the users themselves,” Carazo said.
“Public transport users have a multitude of offers and we need to offer a competitive alternative.” he said.
The amendment allows a fixed price to be offered for previously contracted services via a mobile application.
Users will be able to know at all times how much the journey will cost them, thus preventing unscrupulous taxi drivers from charging more to unsuspecting tourists.
The taxi-sharing option, which means sharing the service with other passengers (mainly strangers) who are heading in the same direction, permits users to save on money and help reduce the volume of traffic congestion and air pollution.
Finally, taxi drivers will be obliged to carry credit card readers for customers who do not want to pay in cash.
