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Vasco Taxi Federation President: 'Inactive Licenses Need to be Released by the City Council'

Borja Musons regrets that over half of Bilbao's taxi fleet has stopped night service due to incivility, criticizing municipal inaction.

A yellow taxi driving on a dark, wet street in Bilbao at night, with blurred city lights and buildings in the background.
IA

A yellow taxi driving on a dark, wet street in Bilbao at night, with blurred city lights and buildings in the background.

Bilbao faces a significant taxi driver shortage, with night services drastically reduced due to 'incivility' and the City Council's failure to activate dormant licenses, according to the Basque Federation president.

Borja Musons, head of Radio Taxi Bizkaia and the Basque Taxi Federation, stated that Bilbao does not require new taxi licenses but rather that the City Council should activate those currently inactive. He estimates that out of the 775 existing licenses, approximately 40 are not operational, contributing to a shortage of drivers.
Musons attributes the lack of interest in the profession to "labor market uncertainty" and the "incivility" faced by taxi drivers. "People think they can do whatever they want at night," he said, leading to "50% of taxi drivers stopping night service." He recounted incidents such as "urinating, defecating, or vomiting" in vehicles, lamenting that "judges do nothing" about it.
The federation president criticizes the Bilbao City Council for not promoting an "efficient connection" among taxi drivers. "We have a serious problem and the Corporation does nothing," he asserted. Regarding VTC licenses, he noted that they "perform urban services and roam the city looking for clients, which is prohibited."
Taxi drivers are demanding "more controls" and the implementation of a "sanctioning framework" for uncivil nighttime behavior, similar to that of the metro and buses. "People do what they want at night," he warned, describing a "deplorable" working situation.
While acknowledging a "good evolution" of the taxi service in Bilbao over the last 15 years, Musons admits it's "not the best moment" due to "unfair competition, traffic problems, and inappropriate user behavior." He concluded, "Tourists say taxis arrive quickly and are well-attended, but it's the people of Bilbao who complain."

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